Cuttack, Feb 1 : Dreaded criminal brothers Sushant and Sushil Dhalsamant, who were arrested on Friday, were sent to Choudwar jail on Saturday after being produced in a court even as a search was conducted at their CDA house for more arms.
Cuttack DCP Sanjeev Arora said the police will seek a 10-day remand for the two brothers adding raids were on at the offices and houses of the criminal brothers at different locations, he said.
Arora said over Rs 2.65 crore were seized from their possession during raids yesterday besides a 9 mm carbine, a double barrel gun along with 150 bullets.
As many as 22 bank accounts belonging to the brothers have been traced so far and are being examined by the income tax departments, he added.
A diary, a laptop and some mobile phones were also recovered during the raid. Police are investigating the source of their ammunition and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will be approached to probe their huge money transactions.
The two brothers, wanted in several murder, extortion and tender fixing cases in Odisha and outside, were arrested from a rented house at Pokhariput in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
Police also seized a fleet of luxury cars from their houses in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
Sources said non-bailable warrants are pending against the two since 2004.
The sources said that the seized diary contains information about their fiscal transactions and some influential persons’ name along with other important documents.
One of the two brothers — Sushil — is understood to have links with some high-profile political leaders and had shared dais with Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and PCC vice president Suresh Mohapatra at a function of the Cuttack-based Yuva Nagar Sangha which he heads.
Senior Congress leader Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra, BJP leader Sameer Dey and BJD MLA Debasis Samantray have also been photographed with him in separate programmes.
However, Pradhan commented that he attended a social function and “it was not possible to know the antecedents of all those present on such occasions.”
“If a politician is involved with a criminal and committed a crime in connivance with him, then it is an offence. As far as I know, I have not done any such thing. Moreover, till the time the court has convicted a person, he cannot be called a criminal,” Pradhan told reporters.
BJD spokesman Sameer Das told newsmen that he did not believe any one from his party was in any way linked to the criminal brothers.
Congress leader Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra, whose photograph with the criminals have come to the fore, also denied any link with the Dhal Samant brothers.
“But if any party leader or worker is found to be associated with them they we will certainly take appropriate action,” he asserted.
