BHUBANESWAR: Commissionerate Police on Monday clarified that the taxi driver found dead under mysterious circumstances on Baranga-Pitapalli Road last week had died by suicide, and four persons have been arrested on charges of abetment.
The victim, Bidyadhar Sahoo (32) of Aranga village in Khurda, was found dead near Jujhagada village under Chandaka police limits on Saturday. He had been missing since September 15, and his wife, Mamina Khatua, lodged a complaint with Badagada police four days later.
Bidyadhar worked as a driver for an online cab service and also assisted Jyostna Rani Khuntia, who runs a job consultancy in Bhubaneswar. Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said, Bidyadhar and Jyostna were reportedly involved in a job fraud racket, in which several persons from Gajapati, Balasore, and Jajpur districts were duped of around Rs 1.5 crore.
On September 15, a group of aspirants, who were duped by him, confronted Bidyadhar near Bhanja Kala Mandap, demanding their money and certificates. When Jyostna was contacted, she reportedly abused them over phone. Unable to trace her, the youths kidnapped Bidyadhar, took him to a rented house in Jajpur, and continued to press for the return of their money and documents.
During captivity, Bidyadhar spoke to his wife on September 17 and 18 using the mobile phone of one of the accused. With no means to repay, he allegedly ended his life by hanging on September 19. The kidnappers attempted CPR, but failed. Later, they tried to dispose of his body along the Baranga-Pitapalli Road, staging it as a suicide.
When police contacted accused N Dilip Kumar (37), whose phone Bidyadhar had used, inconsistencies in his statements led to his detention. Under interrogation, he confessed to the sequence of events, after which police recovered the body.
Apart from Dilip, Deepak Kumar Sahukar (30), Rabindra Behera (50), and Ramesh Chandra Behera (56), all from Gajapati district, have been arrested on charges of abetment of suicide, kidnapping, destruction of evidence, and related offences. The other accused, including the mastermind Jyostna, are absconding, police said. Further investigation is on, they added.