Nine individuals, including two family members, were arrested by the police for their alleged involvement in the abduction and murder of a real estate businessman in Odisha’s Ganjam district, an official said.
The arrests were made just one day after the police recovered the highly decomposed body of the victim, 47-year-old Sudhir Kumar Patra of Satyanarayanpur near Gopalpur, from Ketamani hill within the Sorada police station limits.
The arrested individuals include Nibedita Patra (23) and Tushar Patra (19), the niece and nephew of the deceased.
According to Niti Sekhar, Inspector General of Police (IGP) for the southern range, the siblings are the main accused in the case, which involved charges of kidnapping for ransom, criminal conspiracy, extortion, destruction of evidence, and murder.
The IGP noted that Nibedita is a post-graduate, while her brother is a second-year BBA student.
Preliminary investigation revealed that a property dispute between the victim’s family and his late brother’s family served as the primary motive for the crime.
The dispute reportedly intensified following the death of Sudhir’s brother in June of last year. The IGP stated that Nibedita, acting as the prime accused, collaborated with her brother to hire contract killers to eliminate Sudhir.
Kalu Charan Pradhan (28), a friend of Nibedita, allegedly assisted in arranging the contract killers, he said.
Police stated that the victim was kidnapped at gunpoint on the evening of April 15 while returning home from Dura. He was initially taken near Mathura in Polasara, after which the accused switched vehicles and transported him to the Ramapada forest near Buguda. Ganjam SP Subhendu Patra, who is also the in-charge SP for Berhampur, stated that the victim was brutally assaulted with a wooden plank to intimidate him.
The assault was recorded on video and sent to his wife, and demanded a ransom of Rs 2 crore from her, he said.
Due to the severity of his injuries, Sudhir succumbed at the spot. Following the murder, the accused transported the body by car to Ketamani hill, where they discarded it to destroy evidence before fleeing to various locations, police said.
Authorities have seized two cars, a country-made 7.65mm pistol, and 14 mobile phones from the accused. The SP informed that the suspects had frequently changed SIM cards during the period to evade detection.
He said that some more persons were also involved in the murder, and a search was on to nab them.
