Bhubaneswar: Former OIS officer and I&PR Director (Technical) Niranjan Sethi has confessed to have assaulted cameraman Manas Swain at the Dayal Ashram under the Airfield police limits here, following the latter’s abduction from Palaspaur village in Bhadrak February 7, informed Crime Branch sources Saturday.
The sources also claimed that Sethi has started revealing vital information related to the gruesome murder of Manas and his role in it.
Sethi also admitted before the sleuths that he used to visit Dayal Ashram and the office of the web channel ‘Sampoorna’ regularly.
He also confessed to have helped prime accused Sarmsitha in fleeing Bhubaneswar.
“Niranjan came to Sampoorna office at about 7 pm February 7. At that time, Sarmistha, Raj, Jhuna, her husband, one person operating the computer and Sarmistha’s sister in law were present in the office. Manas was brought to the office from the Ashram. Niranjan had also assaulted Manas in the office. At about 10 pm he left the office,” revealed crime branch.
Sethi also told the crime branch officials that prime accused Sarmistha had met him at his residence in Prashanti Vihar before escaping to Kaliapani in Jajpur March 8.
Sethi allegedly gave Sarmsitha Rs 10,000 and also arranged one car for taking her and Jhuna to Kaliapani.
The sleuths took Sethi and Sarmsitha to Sampoorna office where the former ‘led the team and demonstrated activities of the persons present in the office on February 7’.
The cops recovered Sarmistha’s mobile phone which she had left deliberately to mislead police from her rental accommodation close to her office.
Sources claimed that Sarmsitha’s sister-in-law who had been staying at her rental house had decamped with vital documents and other articles from the residence and office located at the flat in Sky Tower apartment here.
Sethi, Sarmsitha, her accomplice Jhuna Bhoi and Ranjan Nayak will be produced before the JMFC court at Chandbali Sunday following the ending of 5-day remand period Saturday.
As many as eight persons including prime accused Sarmistha and Sethi have been arrested in the sensational murder case of lensman Manas Swain.
PNN