Bhubaneswar: In a significant development in the high-profile murder case of senior advocate and BJP leader Pitabas Panda, the Berhampur Police have apprehended two suspects from Bihar, including a sharpshooter.
The arrests were made after a coordinated surveillance operation across multiple states, including Bihar, Delhi, and Kolkata.
According to sources, the suspects were tracked down by a special team of Berhampur Police after days of intelligence gathering. The arrested are suspected of playing key roles in the murder, with one allegedly firing the fatal shot and the other conducting reconnaissance before the attack.
The suspects were brought to Berhampur for interrogation. The police are now working to gather more evidence and piece together the circumstances surrounding the murder.
A team led by the Berhampur Superintendent Of Police (SP) identified the culprits and tracked their phone calls to determine their location. Currently, three teams of Berhampur Police are operating in three states.
Notably, on the night of Kumar Purnima, advocate Pitabas Panda had gone to the Bhupati Hotel at New Bus Stand to pick up food. After taking the food parcel, while he was heading home around 10 pm, he was shot dead by miscreants in the Baikunth Nagar area.