Berhampur: Five members of a history-sheeter gang on Friday were arrested in Ganjam district under the organised crime sections of the BNS. Two firearms, including a 9-mm pistol and a single-shot pistol, and three live ammunitions were seized from the gang, police said.The accused persons were identified as Satrughna Swain (35), the gang leader; Rajendra Naik (25); Anil Naik (32) near Jagannath Prasad; Litu Samantara (25); and Ritesh Singh (35) of Barua near Bhanjanagar. At least 14 heinous crimes, including murder, attempt to murder and dacoity, were pending against Swain. He sustained injuries in the police encounter earlier, police said.“The gang was busted while investigating an assault case that occurred at Barua village on Tuesday,” said Jeevananand Jena, IIC, Bhanjanagar police station. He said a woman of Barua alleged that they assaulted her brother-in-law due to the previous enmity on Tuesday near Barua. On the same evening, they entered her home forcibly and threatened to kidnap her and her niece and to kill them. She lodged an FIR at Bhanjanagar police station on the same day.“During the investigation, we nabbed Swain and his associates,” he said. Another member of the gang remains absconding, and the search was on to arrest him. Since the gang members were involved in unlawful activities, we booked them under the organised crimes,” Jena added.
