In a major crackdown on the interstate dacoity gang, the Rourkela Police on Sunday arrested all eight members after intense gunfights at two locations under the Lahunipada and Chandiposh police station areas of Sundargarh district.
In the exchange of fire between the interstate dacoity gang and police, the former’s three members, including the gang’s mastermind Chanda Nayak (alias Chande) from Jharkhand, sustained bullet injuries.
The operation began after police received credible intelligence on November 22 regarding the movement of the hardcore Chande gang in the Bonai area of Sundergarh district.
All local Inspectors-In-Charge and Sub-Divisional Police Officers (SDPOs) were alerted, and police stations implemented naka checking (roadblocks) on main, inter-district, and inter-state routes.
In the early hours of Sunday, the accused gang members, traveling in a car and two motorcycles towards the Koida area, attempted to flee upon encountering a police naka.
A gunfight erupted between the accused gang and a joint team of K Balang and Koida Police near the Limsa area under Lahunipada Police Station.
“The accused were warned and asked to surrender. They did not heed the warning of the police team. The team retaliated in a controlled manner and injured one of the accused namely Paras Ram, while others managed to flee towards Chandiposh,” said police sources.
Rourkela Police intercepted the inter-state “Chande” dacoity gang involved in multiple recent dacoity cases of K. Balang, Koida & Lahunipada PS. Acting on credible intelligence on the night of 22–23 Nov, NAKAs were placed across key routes. During checks, the accused opened fire;… pic.twitter.com/Z5ODDHpqPm
— SP Rourkela (@sprourkela) November 23, 2025
Other members of the gang were intercepted near Kucheita village, leading to a second exchange of fire with a joint team from Chandiposh and Gurundia Police Stations. In this gunfight, Chanda Nayak alias Chande and Rajesh Singh were injured in the legs.
All three injured individuals were immediately taken to Rourkela Government Hospital. Subsequently, the remaining five members were successfully arrested.
The police seized significant evidence from the gang, including a Scorpio car, two motorcycles, two country-made pistols, one revolver, eight live rounds of ammunition, and cash totalling Rs 76,150 from the possession of the accused gang members.
The gang is suspected of involvement in multiple robberies in the district, specifically Barsuan, Banko, and Koida, and has cases registered in police stations across Odisha and Jharkhand.
