BERHAMPUR: Hours after arresting former BJD MLA of Berhampur Bikram Panda and 11 others for the murder of BJP leader Pitabasa Panda, police late on Wednesday arrested a 13th suspect, Sunil Hota, for sheltering two of the accused, including a sharpshooter, at his farmhouse in Jeypore town of Koraput district.
In a development that followed, Sudarshan Jena, a close associate of Bikarm, presented himself before the local police on Thursday. He is, currently, being interrogated. Berhampur SP Dr Saravana Vivek M told this paper that Jena gave himself up and is being questioned over his involvement in the case. He apparently went in to hiding after Pitabasa’s murder but came out after the arrests were made by the police.
According to police, sitting corporator of Berhampur Municipal Corporation Malaya Bisoi, also an associate of the former Berhampur MLA, had sought the help of Uma Bisoi, an anti-social, to hire contract killers. Currently, Uma is absconding and so is Kurupatti Bhuyan, one of the two sharpshooters allegedly engaged for the killing.
After gunning down Pitabasa on October 6 night, Kurupatti and Chintu Pradhan - the second sharpshooter - fled to Bhubanewsar before moving to Puri. From Puri, Chintu went to Bengaluru where he worked as a delivery agent while Kurupatti travelled to Hota’s farmhouse in Jeypore. Uma too landed there.
Both stayed there for four days before leaving the state as police intensified investigation and launched a massive manhunt. The entire murder plot involved a financial deal of `50 lakh with police attributing it to personal, political and business enmity.
Meanwhile, the family members of Pitabasa have thanked the police for the breakthrough but expressed their dismay over involvement of Bikram as he had visited the senior advocate’s residence to console them. Bikram had also demanded the strictest punishment for the killers.
Even as Hota and Jena are being interrogated, police have launched a manhunt for Kurupatti and Uma since their role can shed light on several key aspects of the conspiracy behind the murder.
On the day, the BJD held a massive protest in Berhampur to protest the arrest of Bikram who also is the party’s Ganjam district president. In evening, a protest meeting was held under the chairmanship of former MP Chandra Shekhar Sahu. While expressing doubt about the investigation and the role of the police, the regional party demanded a judicial inquiry under the supervision of a high court judge.
Targeting the BJD, Ganjam BJP unit president Saroj Sabat in presence of party MLAs K Anil Kumar, Manoranjan Dyan Samantara and Krushna Chandra Nayak told mediapersons that police nabbed the accused with ample evidence and after a thorough probe, but the BJD is trying to obstruct the investigation.
They demanded action against BJD leaders Pramila Mallik, Chandrashekhar Sahu and Bhrugu Baxipatra for covering up the culprits, obstructing the investigation process and misleading the public.
