The Puri police on Monday arrested six persons, including two key conspirators, in connection with the murder of Jagannath Temple servitor Krushna Chandra Pratihari at Barabati Jaga here on March 16 morning.
The police produced the accused in the SDJM Court here, which sent them to judicial custody.
Among the arrested persons, three were named in the FIR and the rest three provided logistic support for the crime, said Puri SP Kanwar Vishal Singh at a Press meet.
Singh said that besides main conspirators Kalia Singhari and Dolagobinda Singhari, four others have been arrested and they are Kalu Panigrahi, Muna Patra, Sandeep Jena and Baba Mohapatra.
He said father-son duo Kalia and Dolagobinda had hired Kalu Panigrahi to plan and execute the entire crime while Muna Patra supplied weapons.
The SP said the accused would soon be taken on remand for further interrogation and would also be taken to the spot to recreate the crime scene.
Though the SP didn’t reveal the location from where the accused were nabbed, he said the crime seemed to be revenge killing, but further investigations would reveal the exact motive behind it. Raids were on to nab the three other accused who are still on the run.
Pratihari was shot at point-blank range by two miscreants near Barabati Jaga.
Notably, Pratihari, secretary of Suar Mahasuar Nijog of the Shreemandir, had earlier been acquitted along with five others in the murder case of servitor Guna Singhari. The murder of Guna was carried out in the same style here in August 2012. Kalia is the elder brother of Guna and Dolagobinda is his nephew.