Dhenkanal, October 5:  Dhenkanal police have arrested five persons in connection with the armed robbery at an SBI Customer Service Point (CSP) in Kankadahada on September 28 and recovered ₹6.5 lakh in cash, a country-made pistol, ammunition and vehicles allegedly used in the crime.

The accused allegedly robbed CSP operator Sanjeev Kumar Behera at gunpoint and knifepoint, escaping with ₹3.5 lakh, a gold ring and a mobile phone before locking the centre from outside.

The arrested persons were identified as Bika alias Bikash Nayak, Banti alias Amar Singh, Milan Naik, Bapi alias Ambika Prasad Das, and Brijesh Pradhan alias Jitu, 

Police said the arrests followed an investigation involving CCTV footage, technical surveillance and local intelligence. The seizure included a pistol, six live cartridges, four empty shells, three magazines, two knives, an axe, a Maruti Baleno, a TVS Raider motorcycle, an Ola scooter, masks, gloves, chilli powder, 12 mobile phones and ₹6.5 lakh.

According to police, the accused are linked to several robbery, dacoity and theft cases across Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Angul, Jajpur and Keonjhar districts. A total of eight cases are registered against them at Sadar police station, with several more cases pending at other police stations.

Sadar IIC Priyabrata Das, Town IIC Dhiren Behera, Motanga IIC Deepak Lenka and other police personnel were part of the operation.