6 arrested from jail-formed gang after Howrah gold trader looted of lakhs

A gold trader was robbed in Howrah's Jagatballavpur on Tuesday while returning home after closing his shop. The victim, identified as Pradeep Devnath, was allegedly assaulted by a group of assailants who looted several lakhs in cash from him. Following a written complaint, police from Jagatballavpur Police Station launched an investigation and began tracking the suspects based on local inputs and technical evidence.

During the investigation, police uncovered a larger inter-district criminal network. Six individuals have been arrested so far in connection with the robbery. According to police, all six had previously served sentences together in Chandannagar and Bardhaman jails. The accused reportedly came into contact with each other in prison and remained in coordination after release. Their operations, police say, extended across multiple districts in West Bengal and included incidents of robbery, snatching, and theft.

The police have recovered the motorcycle used during the robbery, along with weapons and a significant amount of cash suspected to be part of the looted money. A search operation to trace other members of the gang has been launched across districts in the state, involving joint efforts by multiple district police units. Investigations are continuing to determine the full extent of the gang’s activities.