BHUBANESWAR: Bhubaneswar police has collected DNA samples which it will send to the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) for profiling in a bid to establish involvement of the accused in the brutal murder of sanitation supervisor Sahadev Nayak.
Four assailants - Lipika Nayak, her husband Laxmidhar Nayak and their two associates Rocky Nayak and Sushant Nayak had bludgeoned the victim’s head with two swords, almost decapitating him, on National Highway-16 near busy Rasulgarh Square in the early hours of Wednesday.
Police sources said though scores of passersby witnessed the ghastly crime, their testimonies as eye-witnesses may not be of any significant help in prosecution as all four of them had kept their faces completely covered.
With no CCTV cameras in the crime scene too, the cops are closely stitching available scientific evidence which are a key component during trial of complicated murder cases.
Sources said police seized Sahadev’s blood samples from the spot. The garments including footwear of the suspects, two swords and as many bags which reportedly bore the blood stains of the victim have also been seized and will be sent to SFSL for DNA profiling so that it can be matched. Apart from scientific evidence, police are also gathering mobile location of Sahadev and the accused persons to substantiate their direct role in his murder. Besides this, cops have the CCTV footage of the four when they were closely trailing the victim.
So far, police have arrested five persons including another couple identified as Rakesh Nayak and his wife Laxmi Nayak. Sources said all of them had assembled at Sushant’s house in Dumduma on Tuesday evening to hatch the plan to eliminate Sahadev.
All the six accused’s presence at Sushant’s house has already been confirmed through their mobile phone locations.
Investigation has revealed that the accused, after hacking Sahadev, drove to Daya river, disposed the weapons used in the crime, changed their clothes and even took a bath to remove blood stains from them. They then fled towards Nayagarh where they were eventually nabbed.
Initially, the police had assumed that the persons fleeing on the motorcycle were men. However, after closely examining the video shot by an onlooker, the cops noticed the person riding pillion had nail polish on the hands and was wearing a ring.
Meanwhile, Sushant who had managed to give cops a slip during the raid in Nayagarh is still absconding. “Sushant is the nephew of Laxmidhar and is at large. All efforts are being made to nab him,” said a senior police officer.