Berhampur: A 53-year-old gram panchayat sarpanch in Odisha’s Ganjam district was arrested in connection with the murder of a ruling BJD supporter, police said Thursday.
With this arrest, the number of apprehended persons in the case rose to three as the sarpanch’s son and his driver were held earlier, a senior officer said.
The sarpanch of the Kumarpani gram panchayat was held Wednesday night in the murder of Madhusudan Bisoi, aged 40, he said.
Bisoi was hacked to death near Barsingi area September 9.
The sarpanch, who was elected to the panchayat in a bye-election held around three months ago, was also from the BJD.
“They belong to the same political party but they have had an enmity for the last several years,” the officer said after a preliminary investigation.
“Some more persons were also involved in the murder. We are searching for them,” SP (Ganjam) Jagmohan Meena.Said.
The preliminary investigation revealed that at least four persons had attacked Bisoi with swords near Barsingi on the night of September 9 when he was returning to his village on his motorcycle from Sheragada, the police officer said.
After killing Bisoi, they dumped the body in the Nandiki river on the same night.
The police recovered the body and handed it over to the family members after conducting a post-mortem on the next day, he added.
PTI