BHUBANESWAR: A man from Keonjhar who was in the wind for the last 10 years after allegedly abducting and killing his three-year-old daughter has been tracked down and arrested in Maharashtra by a Crime Branch team.
Prasant Sahani who evaded arrest ever since the gruesome incident in August 2013 was rounded up from Murbad in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Thursday. On August 18, 2013, Prasant’s wife Pooja lodged a complaint with Anandapur police station alleging he kidnapped their minor daughter and killed her. She later approached the Orissa High Court over her daughter’s mysterious disappearance. The court then directed the Crime Branch to probe the sensitive matter.
The agency which took over the investigation of the case from Anandapur police on August 28, 2014, had carried out raids at different places like Bilaspur, Raipur, Pune, Koregaon Bhima, Shikrapur, Ranjangaon but in vain. Prasant and Pooja tied the knot in 2010. The couple shifted to Thane where Prasant worked as a fireman for a private factory. They had their child in 2011.
During their stay in Thane, the couple developed differences. Crime Branch sources said the couple had a fight at their village Fakirpada in Keonjhar on August 18, 2013. In a fit of age, Prasant took off with his daughter on a bicycle, threw her in the Baitarani river and fled.
Crime Branch sources said the accused changed his locations, mobile phone numbers and even his attire frequently to evade arrest. However, the agency continued to chase the case and eventually received credible information regarding his whereabouts.
Acting on a tip-off, a Crime Branch team conducted a raid at Murbad and nabbed Prasant. He was brought to Cuttack and after his interrogation, he confessed to the crime. He will be produced before SDJM Court in Anandapur on Sunday.