Berhampur: In a major achievement for Berhampur police, the city cops Friday arrested prime accused Bhalu in connection with murder of Congress’ Aska MLA candidate and liquor businessman Manoj Jena.
Sub divisional police officer (SDPO) Bishnu Prasad Pati said that a special team had apprehended Bhagaban Sahu alias Bhalu from Bhubaneswar and that the police had issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him in connection with the incident.
They would have declared him an absconder if he had not been apprehended or surrendered.
A police source added that Bhalu had chalked out the blueprint to eliminate Manoj over past enmity. In order to give shape to his plan, he had taken a house on rent in Bhubaneswar with the help of Sultan alias Sunil Nayak and used it to keep a tab on Manoj’s movement.
Eventually they managed to kill him while he was on his way to his village in Nuagaon for preparation of counting of votes May 22 evening. At least four motorcycle-borne miscreants fired at the 37-year-old Congress leader in Lanjipalli area under Baidyanathpur police station limits in Ganjam district. After firing, the miscreants also slit his throat injuring him grievously.
He was admitted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur and then shifted to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar, but succumbed to his injuries May 24.
This incident had kept the police on its toes. Several teams had been formed and a manhunt was launched. Initially, the police had frozen the bank accounts of the suspects and a lookout circular was issued against each of them.
In the first attempt, the police arrested two of the accused – Ganesh Nayak and Hrushikesh Patra in an encounter when they were trying to escape to Andhra Pradesh May 31. Later another team arrested Sultan from Balugaon railway station. A third team arrested Anand Swain, Shankar Rout, Shivram Behera and Kartik Nahak from Laxmipur area in Koraput district and court forwarded them June 5.
Hrushikesh, who had been undergoing treatment at MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur after the encounter, was produced in a court June 10 after his recovery. Baidyanathpur police had already court forwarded Ganesh Nahak.
“Manoj had killed Bhalu’s brother over past enmity. And since then Bhalu had been harbouring a grudge on Manoj. He avenged his brother’s murder by killing Manoj,” Berhampur superintendent of police (SP) Pinak Mishra had earlier informed at a press conference June 5.
PNN