BERHAMPUR: After a frantic search of 26 days, Berhampur police on Monday nabbed Kurupatti Bhuyan and Uma Bisoyi, two of the prime suspects in the murder of senior advocate and BJP leader Pitabasa Panda on October 6.
While Kurupati was one of the two hitmen who gunned down Pitabasa, Uma had hired the sharpshooters, said police.
A senior police officer said the two directly involved in the murder of Pitabasa were nabbed from the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border during the wee hours of Monday. The duo was being interrogated by police at an unknown place. Further investigation is underway and more arrests are likely.
Earlier, police had arrested 14 people for their alleged involvement in the cold-blooded murder of the BJP leader near his residence at Baikunthanagar in Berhampur. The accused include former Berhampur MLA and BJD’s Ganjam president Bikram Panda, former mayor of Berhampur Municipal Corporation Siba Sankar Dash, sitting corporator Malaya Bisoyi and advocate Madan Dalai.
While another sharpshooter Chintu Pradhan was nabbed, Kurupatti along with Uma, an associate of Malaya, were on the run.