Mangaluru: Ten persons have been arrested in connection with a dacoity at the house of a PWD contractor, police said here on Friday.

The incident was reported on June 21 at Ulaibettu under Mangalore Rural Police Station limits, they said.

City Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal said seven of the arrested were from Kerala while two were from Neeramarga and one from Bantwal.

On June 21, a gang of eight to nine masked men entered the house of contractor Padmanabha Kotyan, tied him up and beat him, threatened his wife and children and stole cash and jewellery worth Rs 9 lakh. Also, they took a vehicle that belonged to the contractor and after travelling in it for some distance abandoned it and escaped.

ALSO READ: Masked robbers break into PWD contractor’s house near M'luru; tie up residents, steal money, jewelry

According to police, four local persons had planned the robbery. Vasanth, a household help who doubled up as a lorry driver in the fleet owned by Kotyan, with another person, linked up with a group from Kerala to hatch the dacoity plan some eight months ago.

Police further said Vasanth and his accomplices planned to rob Kotyan, who they learnt had a lot of wealth. The gang had brought large gunny bags with them, in anticipation of making away with a huge amount of money.

Four or five more persons are still at large and will be arrested soon, police added.

The dacoity was meticulously planned and executed, police said, adding three teams had to be formed to catch the accused.

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Guwahati (PTI): Low-cost airline Air India Express has announced an increase in flight operations from three major destinations in the northeast – Guwahati, Agartala and Imphal – as part of its winter schedule.

This is part of the airlines’ expansion of winter services across the country, it said in a statement here.

Air India Express has increased its operations to 106 weekly flights from 63 last winter, from Guwahati.

It provides direct connectivity to eight domestic destinations of Agartala, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jaipur and Kolkata. The airline also provides one-stop connectivity to 18 domestic destinations and six international destinations from Guwahati.

In Imphal, the airline hiked its weekly flights to 34 this season, an addition of 20 over last winter, the statement said.

Since adding Agartala as a station in September 2024, the airline has increased its flights from 14 to 21 weekly, and connects two destinations – Guwahati and Kolkata – directly.

It also offers one-stop connectivity from Agartala to 11 domestic destinations.

“The expansion not only facilitates easier travel for those wishing to explore North East, but also strengthens Guwahati’s role as a vital link with the rest of the country,” Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Ankur Garg said.

“With our fleet now exceeding 90 aircraft and rapidly growing, we are well-positioned to support the evolving needs of emerging Indian cities,” he added.