BERHAMPUR: The main accused of the sensational Bishnu Prasad Gouda murder case, Dr Hrushikesh Tripathy was arrested by a special police team led by Berhampur ASP Pravat Routroy from Bhubaneswar on Monday.Gouda, an agent of a private bank, who was staying in a rented accommodation in the city, was missing since August 18. The 45-year-old accused had murdered Gouda, who was a former employee in his private clinic at Goilundi, over a love affair with a nurse.
The 55-year-old surgery specialist chopped Gouda’s body into three parts and buried the dismembered parts in Badagumula village, on the outskirts of the city, where he owns a patch of land.On the fateful day, Gouda left for the bank, but did not return. After failing to trace Gouda, family members lodged a missing complaint with the police. They also informed the cops about Gouda’s relationship with the nurse Mamata Behera and his rivalry with Tripathy. Basing on the complaint, the SP formed a special police team and started investigation. Meanwhile, Tripathy absconded.
After an anonymous call on September 2 to Gouda’s wife Narmada informing her about the doctor’s role in the murder, police swung into action. On September 11, the cops arrested Ganga Behera, a gardener in Tripathy’s clinic, who spilled the beans. Subsequently, a police team retrieved the highly decomposed body of Gouda, two blood stained surgery blades, gloves and four empty saline bottles from a pit in Badagumula. Police sealed Tripathy’s clinic and got his bank accounts frozen.
On Sunday, police got a tip off that Tripathy was hiding in a dharmasala in Puri and was supposed to come to Bhubaneswar to take money from his acquaintances. They nabbed Tripathy when he arrived at Bhubaneswar and also arrested another Bidhan Sethi, the accused’s domestic help, for assisting the doctor in the crime.