Angul: Angul police have achieved a major success in the form of being able to nab Jhasketan, a prime accused in Kushakila double murder and Kukurpeta aunt-nephew murder case. He had been at large since escaping from Angul Court.
The arrest of Jhasketan is reminiscent of a thriller movie.
It was May 18 last year. Jhasketan was put in a court cell. On the pretext of attending nature’s call, he went to the court toilet and from there he escaped through the asbestos roof by breaking it open.
Ever since his escape from the court, he stayed for some time in Kolkata, Gujarat and in some other places. Later he found a safe haven in the jungle bordering Deogarh and Sambalpur districts. He was staying in a rented house in Samantarapali village under the name of Manoj.
Acting on a tip-off, police formed a six-member special squad under the guidance of IIC Dinakrushna Mishra. Saturday evening, when Jhasketan was going somewhere on a motorcycle, the waiting team swooped down on him and arrested him.
Though Jhasketan was nabbed from Deogarh, the Deogarh district police did not have inkling of the operation or clue about the arrest. Jhasketan was immediately brought to Angul in a Scorpio which was kept ready for the purpose.
Interestingly, locals did not have any idea about the operation. They thought Jhasketan was being kidnapped. They even informed Deogarh police that some persons had kidnapped a man in a Scorpio.
Taking the information seriously, Deogarh police launched an investigation only to know about the operation.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the motorcycle Jhasketan was riding was originally registered in the name of Prafulla Udabar. Sources close to the team revealed that the police had a close watch on Jhasketan since his escape.
Jarapada police had arrested Jhasketan February 12, 2016. After intense grilling, he had confessed to murdering four persons — Jogeswar Sahu and Hirankshya Sahu of Kushakila village and Abala Gadnayak and her nephew Kumuda Sahu of Kukurpeta area under Chhendipada police limits.
Since then he had been in jail as an undertrial. May 18 last year, he was to be produced in a court. After his escape from the court premises, three policemen were suspended on charges of dereliction of duty.
PNN