Road accident in Odisha turns out to be murder, accused detained
BALANGIR: A land grabber who allegedly killed a man by running him over with a mini-truck, was apprehended by Balangir police on Saturday night.
Chitta Nayak, the accused, was trying to flee to Visakhapatnam when he was nabbed by police near Therubali in Rayagada. On Sunday morning, the accused was brought to Balangir Town police station where he is being interrogated.
On Saturday, a mini-truck hit a two-wheeler from behind near the RTO square. While the pillion rider, identified as Srikant Bag, died on the spot, motorcyclist Sanu Nayak sustained injuries. After being hit from behind, the two-wheeler dashed into an MUV. The mini-truck then hit another wheat-laden truck which rammed into a tree.
The vehicle registration was found to have been blackened on front and a wrong plate was attached at the rear. Eyewitnesses claimed, Chitta was behind the wheels of the mini-truck. Sources said the accused’s target was Sanu.
After receiving a call on his mobile phone, Sanu left his home with Srikant on a motorcycle. When he crossed Chitta’s house, a mini-truck started to trail him.
Sanu’s family members said Chitta was forcing them to sell a piece of land and had also threatened to kill them. Last week, the accused had tried to kill Sanu’s brother Bhuban Nayak in a similar manner.
However, he escaped with injuries and is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital. Though the family knew it was the handiwork of Chitta, they didn’t report the matter to police out of fear.
Sources said Chitta was a member of tender fixing and land grabbing gang. After his partner Raju Nag was gunned down five years back, he was lying low.
Recently, he returned to his old ways of land grabbing. Interestingly, following the accident on Saturday, Chitta got himself admitted to Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital feigning injury. He was en route to Visakhapatnam on the pretext of undergoing treatment there for his ‘injuries’.
Basing on the complaint of Srikant’s family members, a case was registered by police. Besides Chitta, two of his aides have been detained. Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Tofan Bag said the main accused is being quizzed. Police are investigating the case from all angles including murder.