Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday ordered a Crime Branch inquiry into the murder of BJD leader Abhimanyu Sahu at Titilagarh in Balangir district. ADG, Crime BK Sharma said a four-member SIT (special investigation team) of the Crime Branch headed by an ASP has left for Titilagarh for the purpose.
The police suspect that political rivalry was the reason behind the murder, for which professional killers were engaged. However, a total bandh was observed in Titilagarh on Monday with Sahu’s supporters and several organisations demanding a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) inquiry into the brutal murder of the popular leader. Vehicles went off the roads, shops downed shutters and educational institutions and business establishments remained closed
Titilagarh town erupted in anger and outrage after the gruesome murder of Biju Yuba Janata Dal (BYJD) State general secretary Sahu while on his routine morning walk early on Sunday morning. Hundreds of Sahu’s angry supporters staged a demonstration at the local hospital questioning the way the police were going about the preliminary investigation. Titilagarh PS IIC Chinatmani Pradhan faced the ire of the agitators when he sought to restrain one of them.
Sensing the mood of the protesters, the officer ran back to the police station, but the crowd followed him. The protesters relented only after persuasion by SDPO Dilip Purohit. In view of the tension, Balangir Superintendent of Police R Prakash and Additional SP Prafulla Patra rushed to Titilagarh and camped there to oversee security measures.
Hundreds of people joined the funeral procession of Sahu, who was widely tipped to be the Titilagarh BJD candidate in the coming Assembly elections. As the procession winded through the streets of the town, hundreds more paid their last respects to the departed leader on roadsides. A host of BJD leaders, including Industries Minister Niranjan Pujari, former Minister AU Singh Deo and BYJD president Sanjay Dasburma, joined the funeral procession.
The wrath of the crowd erupted again when AU Singh Deo, along with his two sons Kalikesh Singh Deo and Arkesh Singh Deo, were paying their last respects to Sahu at the cremation ground. Sahu’s supporters rained abuses on the father-son trio and threw away the wreaths they had placed on the body of their leader.
Though close to the Singh Deos in the initial stages, Sahu had fallen out with the royal family of late and become close to Finance Minister Prasanna Acharya, Energy Minister Arun Sahu and BYJD president Dasburma. He was eyeing the BJD ticket from the Titilagarh Assembly constituency which made him an eyesore for some local BJD leaders. Sahu had been attacked with some sharp weapon near a dhaba in the Bandupala area of the town. He was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival. His neck had been slit and there was a serious injury on the backside of his head. According to reports, more than five persons followed Sahu. While one of them was on a motorcycle, the others were in a white Bolero. The police believe that the car first dashed him from behind and after that his neck was slit.
But the crucial question is whether locals or outsiders committed the heinous crime. According to sources, the police have got some CCTV footage of the happening from a hotel on the road through which Sahu went on morning walk.