Three persons were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police on Monday in connection with the murder of Rakesh Choudhury, a milk trader of Baliapal in the district on June 25.
The arrestees were identified as Anuj Kumar Choudhury alias Guddu, the son of deceased Rakesh from his first wife. The two others are Praveen Agarwala alias Nilu of Rajhans Colony (UP) and Lokesh alias Bhaati of Shikarpur in Bulandshahr . While Anuj has 33 cases, Lokesh has nine cases pending against him in various police station in Uttar Pradesh.
“A Maruti Swift car used for the murder has also been seized by the UP police.
Anuj has already been handed over to us. Baliapal police would soon bring Praveen and Lokesh on remand to Odisha. The seized murder weapon will also be handed over to us along with the two accused,” said Basta SDPO Ranjit Prusty.
Prusty said the murder is fallout of a family dispute. Rakesh had sold off all this property in Uttar Pradesh and come to Odisha in 2006.
Even though he had a wife and two sons in his native place in Uttar Pradesh, he settled in Baliapal area and remarried here.
He had Rs 24 lakh in his bank account that his first wife and sons were allegedly threatening him for.
Notably, Rakesh was shot dead on the night of June 25 in Dangapita village under the Baliapal police station. He was returning home after selling milk, when the assailants in a car opened fire at him. They shot three rounds from close range, killing him on the spot.