Dhenkanal Town Police have arrested four persons and apprehended two minors in connection with a series of house burglaries and recovered 61.590 grams of gold ornaments, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajinkya B. Mane said on Saturday.

Briefing reporters at the press conference, the SP said Milu Naik (21) and Lipu Naik (21) are the alleged masterminds. The other arrested are Tapu alias Ama Naik (19) and Subham alias Bhagu Naik (20). All four are residents of Sarjang Sahi. The identities of the two minors have not been disclosed, however the SP said they will be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.

Police identified the accused by tracking their Instagram accounts, where they were making reels of the gold, with the help of technical surveillance, CCTV footage and human intelligence. Multiple cases are registered against Milu Naik.

The arrests are linked to five cases (Town PS Case Nos. 571, 594, 622, 656 and 679) registered between August 2 and September 22 under Sections 331(4) and 305 of the BNS, 2023. In Case No. 622, complainant Tapan Khuntia reported that seven persons entered his house through the balcony around midnight on August 24, locked him in his room and stole Rs 3 lakh in cash, gold ornaments, one induction and two wristwatches. The incident was captured on CCTV.

Recovered gold includes a mangalasutra (1.380 gm), two finger rings (1.830 gm), four sankha bangles (52.490 gm), earrings (3.140 gm) and jhara earrings (2.70 gm).

Police also seized a black Bullet motorcycle from the accused.

The raiding team was led by Inspector D.K. Behera (IIC, Town PS). Further investigation is under way.