Bhubaneswar: In a major breakthrough related to cameraman Manas Swain’s murder, the Crime Branch team has reportedly found some new evidence during the investigation.
According to reports, the Crime Branch team is likely to take, four accused, who are on police remand, for scene recreation tomorrow.
Manas, who was working as a cameraman with the web-channel of Sarmistha for about six months had quit his job in January this year after having a fallout with her.
Police said initial investigation suggests Manas was murdered as he was in possession of a memory chip having some sensitive content related to a few high-profile people.
He had visited Palashpur village in Bhadrak district on February 6 to record videos of a wedding. He was heading towards Digachhia on a two-wheeler with one of his associates and a local on February 7 morning when at least five accused – Sarmistha, Jhuna, Ranjan Nayak, Bhagyadhar Nayak and Bibek Nayak waylaid him.
The miscreants then bundled the cameraman into Sarmistha’s car and took him to an elderly people’s shelter home – Dayal Ashram near Sundarpada area of the Capital City.
They kept him confined on the first floor of the two-storeyed building for the entire day on February 7 and thrashed him black and blue. While the shelter home for elderly people is running on the ground floor, the first floor of the building is lying vacant.
The accused served Manas dinner on February 7 night and left the building. However, he was found dead when they returned to the spot the next day.
According to the police, the culprits buried Manas’ body near Nayagarh district’s Budhipatna area at about 8 pm on February 8.
So far, the police have arrested eight persons including retired Odisha Information Service (OIS) official Niranjan Sethi for their alleged involvement in the murder.
