Bhadrak: A team of the Crime Branch on Thursday visited Chandbali in the district after taking over the investigation of cameraman Manas Swain’s murder. The CB team comprising five members is led by a Deputy SP-ranked woman officer, said sources. The team met senior police officials here and was briefed about progress in the probe.
Swain was kidnapped from Palaspur village under Chandbali police limits on February 6 allegedly by his former employer Sarmista Rout and her associates.
The CB team led by Deputy SP Kalpana Sahu met senior police officials at the SP office here. The team will proceed to Bhubaneswar on Friday, and subsequently to Nayagarh, sources said. Another team of the Crime Branch is very likely to move outside Odisha to nab Sarmista, the prime accused in this case.
The second episode of this spine-chilling crime unfolded in Bhubaneswar where Swain was murdered in an old-age home in Sunderpada. His body was disposed of (buried) in Ranapur the following day.
So far, six persons including former OIS officer Niranjan Sethi and Sarmista’s brother Parameswar have been arrested, while the prime accused and her associate Jhuna remain at large.
