Chandbali: A five-member team of Odisha Crime Branch investigating the kidnapping and murder of lensman Manas Swain Friday visited the kidnapping site at Palaspur village under Chandbali police limits in Bhadrak district and quizzed a few villagers.
Led by DSP Kalpana Sahu, the team quizzed a few villagers regarding the murder of the cameraman. The team met senior police officials in Bhadrak and was briefed about the progress in the probe.
The probe team was accompanied by Chandbali IIC Karunakar Rout and Mato outpost in-charge Buddhiram Mohanty.
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The team is likely to proceed back to Bhubaneswar and subsequently to Nayagarh where Swain was buried. Another team of the Crime Branch has reportedly moved outside Odisha to nab Sarmistha, the prime accused in this case.
Worth mentioning, Swain was kidnapped in a car February 7 by his former employer Sarmistha Rout and some of her associates when he had come to the village for videographing a wedding ceremony.
A man named Achinta Rout had invited Swain. After learning about his visit, Sarmistha along with her associates hatched a plan and reached the village. They waited throughout the night at the village end and kidnapped Swain while he was heading back to Bhubaneswar February 7 morning.
They then brought him to Dayal Ashram in Bhubaneswar, where he is believed to have been killed.
It is said that Swain was asked to return a memory chip and was severely beaten up before his death. Later, the accused took his body and buried it at a hill located in Ranpur of Nayagarh district.
Notably, Chandbali police was previously investigating the murder case which was subsequently handed over to the Crime Branch a couple of days ago.
PNN