Bhubaneswar: Sarmistha Rout, the prime accused in the murder of cameraman Manas Swain, had hid for three days at her in-laws’ house at Kolipasi village in Jajpur, soon after the case escalated.
The mother-in-law of Sarmistha, Shantilata, informed that she had arrived at their house with her associate Jhuna Bhoi, who is also on the run, at around 11.30 PM on March 7.
When asked, Sarmistha had clarified that she had come to the village for shooting a documentary for her Ashram and her crew had already left. She stayed in the house till March 10.
Shantilata said that Sarmistha and her son Jitesh Kumar Bal, a journalist by profession, had a love marriage in 2013. They both had a son three years later and were staying in Bhubaneswar ever since.
However, they parted ways in 2018. Shantilata said that she has no idea why they got separated and also claimed that their family has had no connection with her son Jitesh since then.
On the murder charges against her daughter-in-law, Shantilata said, “If found guilty, Sarmistha should be punished as per law.”
So far six persons have been arrested in the murder case, however, police is yet to trace Sarmistha, the Editor of Odia fortnightly ‘Sampurna’, and her associate Jhuna Bhoi.
Meanwhile, the Crime Branch has taken over the investigation of the case in view of its gravity and involvement of multiple districts. A team of the Crime Branch led by a DSP-ranked officer will probe the case.
