BHUBANESWAR: Nearly a month after the murder of a doctor couple in the city, the Commissionerate Police on Saturday arrested three of the five accused in the case from Berhampur.
The accused are Kishore Behera alias Timpa, Md Kamal Khan alias Muna and Phulsari Behera alias Nini. Two other accused, Tikina Behera and her husband Jawan Naik are still at large. All of them are residents of Salia Sahi in the Capital, said Police Commissioner Dr RP Sharma. A team of the special squad, which was camping at Gopalpur, was tipped off on Friday evening about the presence of Timpa at a roadside eatery. Accordingly, the team raided the food joint and arrested Timpa. During interrogation, Timpa revealed the whereabouts of Muna and Nini leading police to a residential colony at Tangi in Cuttack district.
According to police, Tikina started working as a maid servant at Dr Prafulla Mishra’s house from October 10. As she was irregular at work, Mishra’s wife Sushma asked her to quit and arrange another woman.
Tikina persuaded her neighbour Nini to work in Mishra’s house. It was Nini who planned the robbery and asked her cousin Timpa, Jawan and Muna to join.
On December 15 morning, the five left for Sailashree Vihar in an autorickshaw and waited outside Mishra’s house which was locked from outside as Sushma had gone to the temple. When Sushma returned, Tikina and Nini entered the house along with the former. While Sushma was in the kitchen, Tikina opened the gate and let Timpa, Jawan and Muna in. It was Timpa who hit the lady doctor with a dagger leaving her unconscious. The miscreants then tied a saree around Dr Mishra’s neck suffocating him to death. The five persons, ransacked the house, looted Rs 24,000 in cash and jewellery worth Rs 1.5 lakh and fled.
“They took turns to assault Sushma with a sharp object. After committing the crime, they locked the house and went to Khandagiri. They left for Balugaon in an autorickshaw and then boarded a train to Icchapuram,” Police Commissioner Dr RP Sharma said. They distributed the booty among themselves at Icchapuram and left in different directions, he added.