The Odisha DGP on Wednesday handed over the investigation into the kidnapping and murder of a news portal’s cameraman to the state’s top investigating agency, the CID-Crime Branch.
This comes two days after former Odisha Information Service (OIS) officer Niranjan Sethi was arrested over the killing of Manas Swain, 28.
The prime accused in the case, Swain’s former employer Sarmistha Rout, is still on the run. Rout, the owner and editor of a web portal and fortnightly magazine, allegedly got Swain killed as he was in possession of a chip which contained photos and videos related to her. The police are yet to recover the chip.
So far the police have arrested five people in the case. Rout’s brother Parameswar was also arrested from Vijayawada Tuesday. He was brought to Odisha for questioning and is suspected to have helped Rout in escaping after the murder.
“Swain was allegedly kidnapped in Bhadrak district, it was said that he was killed in Bhubaneswar in Khurda district, and his body was buried in Nayagarh district,” DIG Crime Branch Sanjeeb Panda told reporters here.
“One team will look for Sharmishta Rout, owner of the web channel where Swain worked, while another will look into other aspects of the case. It is suspected that Rout has fled to some other state,” he added.
Rout was summoned for questioning by the Bhadrak police after Swain’s family had lodged a missing persons report. The police, however, said that they had no evidence to suspect her as an accused and she was released.
Rout is now the prime suspect after three of the accused said they had killed Swain at her behest.
On Wednesday, the police also seized Rout’s car from the parking space of an apartment in Bhubaneswar.
Swain was allegedly kidnapped by Sarmistha and four others from Bhadrak district on February 7 when he went there for a wedding assignment. He was brought to Dayal Ashram near Sundarpada in the Capital city which is run by Rout and brutally assaulted over the memory chip. He succumbed on February 8.
