Delang rape, murder accused held

Puri Police on Wednesday arrested a serial killer for the rape and murder of a 27-year-old woman in Delanga area on the intervening night of August 1 and 2.
Image for representational purpose only.
Image for representational purpose only.

BHUBANESWAR: Puri Police on Wednesday arrested a serial killer for the rape and murder of a 27-year-old woman in Delanga area on the intervening night of August 1 and 2.The accused Budhadev Behera, a native of Deogarh, is charged with five cases of murder in Odisha as well as Andhra Pradesh. He had tried to mislead the cops by placing stolen documents of a person near the murder scene at Delanga.

So far, eight criminal cases have been registered against Budhadev of which five are for murder. Four of the murders have been committed in last one year, IG, Central, Soumendra Priyadarshi told mediapersons on Wednesday.

This is for the second time that the 31-year-old has landed in police net. He had managed to evade police net for the past five years after escaping from a hospital in Deogarh in 2012. He was arrested in connection with a murder by Deogarh Police but later during treatment, he fled and could not be arrested.

His last murder in Delanga, where he raped and slit the throat of the victim proved his undoing. The victim, survived by her two children, was separated from her husband. She was staying in Andhra Pradesh and was working as a labourer. Behera, who was working as a labour agent, had befriended the woman in Andhra around three months back and was regularly in touch with her.

Puri SP Sarthak Sarangi said, Behera had visited the house of the victim, a native of Kandhamal district, on July 31 night. On August 1, the woman had accompanied him for some work to Jatni. The duo had boarded a bus from Raikia to Berhampur and from there they travelled in a train to Jatni. On the pretext of visiting his father-in-law’s house in Ankoi, he brought the woman to the spot in an auto-rickshaw. On the way, he offered her spiked drinks following which the woman became unconscious. He raped her in a forested patch and killed her. He then boarded a passenger train from Motari railway station in the wee hours of August 2.  

From the spot, police had found two ATM cards which Behera had stolen from Sunil Kumar Mahto at Vijaywada railway station on July 15. Interestingly, he had returned to Puri and carried out a burglary under Seabeach Police Station before being nabbed.
After escaping from Deogarh, Behera had fled to Andhra Pradesh where he worked in a cement factory for three years. Later, he acted as a labour contractor and used to take people to the neighbouring State. It is during this period that he is believed to have befriended some of his victims.

Record of a  serial killer

Budhadev Behera, a native of Deogarh, is charged with five cases of murder in Odisha as well as Andhra Pradesh.

He had tried to mislead the cops by placing stolen documents of a person near the murder scene at Delanga
8 criminal cases have been registered against Budhadev of which five are for murder
After raping and killing the victim on Aug 1, he had returned to Puri and carried out a burglary under Seabeach Police Station before being nabbed

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