Mayurbhanj: The prime accused in the murder of a couple over alleged witchcraft, at Sitaram Sahi under Kaptipada police limits in Mayurbhanj district, was held on Thursday.
Reportedly, Udala SDPO Swapnaranjan Mohapatra and Kaptipada IIC Rina Behera nabbed the accused Dibakar Singh of Mahulpankha village during a raid on his brother’s house at Bidyadharnagar village.
Dibakar’s associate Labo alias Champai Ho had been arrested by the police and forwarded to court on Wednesday. With the arrest of Dibakar, police also seized the murder weapon a bill-hook.
Reportedly on October 6, the two accused had attacked Sitaram Singh and wife Leth Singh while they were returning home after watching a football match at nearby Chhatramba village.
After they died, Dibakar and Labo carried their bodies to bank of Sunei Dam. From there they boarded two boats and upon reaching a small island tied stones to the bodies and threw them into the water.
Sitaram’s daughters had lodged a missing report with the police on October 7. During search operation some drops of blood and belongings of the couple had been found from a nearby forest.
It was after a police dog tracked a scent from the scene to Sunei Dam, another water search operation was launched with the help of fire personnel from Udala. Later, an ODRAF team from Balasore also joined the operation and fished out the bodies.