Bhubaneswar: In a dramatic twist to the case of missing taxi driver Bidyadhara Sahu (35), police on Sunday said he is suspected to have died by suicide while being held hostage. His body was recovered from Daruthenga village on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
Sahu had gone missing on September 15, following which his family lodged a complaint at Badagada police station.
According to police, a group of youths allegedly kidnapped Sahu and took him to Jajpur, demanding ransom running into crores. Investigation later revealed that Sahu had duped several people by promising them jobs.
Police also traced the person who had contacted Sahu’s wife, who disclosed details of the alleged abduction linked to repayment of money.
“Interrogation revealed that Sahu was with people who abducted him to recover money they had paid for jobs. He was neither repaying the money nor returning documents he had collected from the job seekers,” said Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena.
On Saturday morning, some acquaintances spotted Sahu’s car and later found his body dumped across a boundary wall. A purse, coins, and a liquor bottle were seized from the spot.
Police said interrogation of a detainee revealed that frequent confrontations with the job seekers allegedly drove Sahu to end his life by strangling himself with a towel. The abductors then attempted to dispose of the body to make it appear like murder.
Meanwhile, Sahu’s family members have alleged that he was kidnapped and murdered.
