BHUBANESWAR: The Crime Branch (CB) on Friday took main accused in Manas Swain murder case Sarmistha Rout to Bhadrak, Bhubaneswar and Nayagarh to recreate the crime scene and elicit more information on the brutal killing.
CB officers took Sarmistha, editor of Bhubaneswar-based web channel Sampurna, to Palaspur in Bhadrak district where she and her associates Jhuna Bhoi, Ranjan Nayak, Bhagyadhar Nayak and Bibek Nayak had kidnapped him. She told the officers that they reached Palashpur on February 6 night and waited for Manas till the next morning.
The cameraman had gone to Bhadrak district on a wedding assignment. The accused waylaid him while he was proceeding towards a bus stand and bundled him into Sarmistha’s car. He was then taken to Dayal Ashram, a shelter home for elderly people in the Capital city run by Sarmistha, and was beaten to death.
After Palashpur, CB officers took her to the ashram where Sarmistha reportedly broke down while describing the crime. She was then taken to Badhipatna under Ranpur police limits in Nayagarh district where the accused had buried Manas’ body on February 8 evening.
CB informed that Sarmistha and Jhuna had purchased a jute bag and ropes along with gloves from Unit-I market in the Capital city. The duo had then purchased 10 kg salt from Rajsunakhala while Bhagyadhar and Ranjan bought a pick-ax and a spade from the same area to dispose of the body.
The accused decided to bury the body in Nua Katni as the spot is only 2 km away from Bhagyadhar’s village Badhipatna. The investigating agency, however, has not been able to recover the memory chip that Manas was in possession of. According to the CB, Manas was kidnapped and beaten to death as he was in possession of the memory chip which had some ‘valuable’ content related to the accused. The agency’s investigation has revealed that Sarmistha failed to recover the memory card from the cameraman.
“Initial probe suggests the memory chip was with Manas and it is a herculean task to recover it now. However, we have collected sufficient evidence against the accused to prove them guilty in the court,” said a senior CB officer.
PROBE DETAILS
The accused waited at Palashpur throughout the night to kidnap Manas. He was beaten to death at Dayal Ashram in Capital. Sarmistha, Jhuna purchased jute bag, ropes, gloves from Unit-I market besides, 10 kg salt from Rajsunakhala to dispose of the body