BHUBANESWAR: Even as the accused in the recent Rajmahal Square hit and run incident, in which a daily wager was killed, is still at large, police have managed to make no breakthrough in the case.
The accused Bikash Pal, an officer of a private bank in the city, had allegedly run his speeding car over a man sleeping on the footpath late in the night. The victim Dinabandhu Baral of Pipili was rushed to the hospital where he succumbed. Pal had abandoned his car on the bed of Daya river and even threw his mobile phone away to evade detection.
Though police have raided Pal’s house at Kakatpur and his residence in Pokhariput five to seven times so far, they are yet to catch hold of him.
Meanwhile, Pal’s wife has reportedly told the police that he had suicidal tendency and attempted to end his life a few years back. Police are, however, not convinced with the claims and are of the opinion that like Pal, his wife, too, is possibly trying to deceive them. “Initial investigation suggests it is a clear case of rash and negligent driving. The claims made by the suspect’s wife are not very convincing and his act does not appear like an attempted suicide bid,” said an officer of Capital police station.
During verification of the four-wheeler and examination of CCTV footage, police established that the vehicle was involved in the accident and it belonged to Pal. They are, however, yet to confirm whether Pal was behind the wheels when the accident occurred. Nonetheless, his mysterious disappearance has strongly raised suspicion against him. The area where Pal had abandoned his car hardly has any CCTV cover.