BHUBANESWAR: Police on Wednesday arrested a vegetable wholesaler from Ganjam for his alleged involvement in last week’s sensational hit-and-run case near Patrapada foot overbridge (FOB).
Investigation revealed that accused Amit Sahu’s SUV was the only vehicle responsible for the gory mishap in which the victim, a 45-year-old fish trader Hadubandhu Mallick, was dragged to a distance of 3 km.
Initially, police suspected that Mallick was hit by an unidentified vehicle near the FOB on July 26 and then dragged by another car for over 3 km till Baramunda. The fish trader was driving the moped, while Kabi Mallick was riding pillion. Both were on their way to Unit-IV market to buy fish when the accident took place at about 4 am amidst a heavy downpour in the city.
Prima facie it appeared that both of them were first hit by an unidentified vehicle and were thrown off due to the impact of the collision. Subsequently, Mallick was presumed to have been then hit by another speeding car and dragged for over 3 km, said IIC of Tamando police station Basant Kumar Dalei.
However, when a detailed examination was carried out at the site, broken parts of Sahu’s SUV involved in the accident were found on the spot. The CCTV footage was examined and the accused identified, he added.
Police contacted Sahu and he confessed to his involvement in the hit-and-run case. He assured to surrender before the police but then switched off his mobile phone and went into hiding to evade arrest.
Subsequently, police conducted raids, arrested him from Berhampur and seized the SUV from his possession. Police said Sahu had come to the city on that day to make some purchases when the mishap took place.
