Hazaribagh/Medininagar: In a joint operation by the Hazaribagh and Koderma police, an inter-state vehicle lifting gang has been busted and 12 people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the crime, police said on Monday.

Ten four-wheelers have also been seized, they said.

Hazaribagh Superintendent of Police Karthik S. said the district police carried out the joint action with their Koderma counterpart based on a tip-off that an inter-state vehicle lifting gang was operating on NH 2, NH 33, and NH 31.

Rakesh Kumar Pandey alias Sourav Kumar Pandey of Koderma, the alleged mastermind of the racket, was among those arrested, the police officer said.

Pandey allegedly used to sell the stolen vehicles outside Jharkhand either in Nepal or Bihar, the Hazaribagh SP said.

During interrogation before the Koderma superintendent of police Ehtesham Waquarib, Pandey has confessed to his crime, the police officer said.

In a separate incident in Palamu district, the police arrested four miscreants and recovered arms and ammunition from them.

The law enforcers have also recovered an unidentified body from a barrage on the Koel River under the North Koel Reservoir project.

(PTI)

Twin 6-year-olds die by drowning

Dhanbad: Two six-year-old twin children, Lav and Kush, sons of Rohit Singh, a farmer of Shitalpur village of Maniadih locality of Tundi block about 40 km from Dhanbad district headquarter died due to drowning on Monday morning in a village pond.

The incident came to light on Monday evening when Rohit Singh returned to his house after sowing seeds in the field and asked about the whereabouts of his sons but his wife on the other hand enquired about the duo from him and said that duo followed him while he was going to his farmland during the morning. Rohit along with other villagers then started searching for the duo and one of villagers sighted the leg of one of the missing children in a nearby pond. The villagers then fished out the dead bodies of the duo from the pond.

(Praduman Choubey)

Viral video of police officer taking bribe

Dhanbad: A video, of officer-in-charge of Alakdiha police station Ravindra Sharma, receiving money from a person went viral on the social media. The video seems to have purportedly been circulated to portray that Sharma was taking money as a bribe however the audio was not very clear and thus it remained unclear that for what purpose the money was taken. Ravindra Sharma on the other hand denied any bribe taking and said that he doesn't that how and when the video was made.

(Praduman Choubey)

Rs 2 lakh robbed from petrol pump

Dhanbad: Cash worth Rs 2 lakh was robbed from the cash counter of a petrol pump of Katras during the early hours of Monday at around 3am by six unidentified criminals who also damaged the CCTV camera of the petrol pump and took away the DBR.

Staff members Anand Mahto and Dayanand Mahto told police that two persons arrived at around 3 am in a car and knocked at the door of office claiming that as their father is ill they need two litres of petrol to rush him to hospital through car. As soon as they opened the gate, the duo attacked them with a dagger and four more youths joined them. The criminals then took away Rs 2 lakh cash and fled the site.

(Praduman Choubey)