Police on Monday arrested another accused in the case of brutal murder of young journalist Tarun Acharya of a TV channel at Khallikote on May 27 this year. Incidentally, Sibaram Nayak, who was arrested, is also a journalist by profession. He had been detained for questioning on his alleged involvement in the murder late on Sunday night.
“Nayak was arrested on the basis of his call records which prove that he was in touch with the other accused before and after the murder of Acharya,” said Investigating Officer (IO) and Khallikote PS IIC Silveria Toppo. He has been charged under Sections 302 and 120 (b) of IPC, the IIC said.
Following the arrest of Nayak, Ganjam SP Narasingh Bhol rushed to the Khallikote police station and interrogated him. The police had earlier arrested Shyam Sundar Prusty, owner of a processing plant at Bharasa, and his associates Ramesh Reddy and Suresh Chandra Sahu in the case.
The IO said the police arrested Nayak after tracking his call records on his mobile phone in which he had a conversation with Prusty before and after Acharya’s murder. Nayak had talked to Prusty for about 15 minutes a day after the murder, he added. Nayak, however, has denied any involvement in the murder. He said that as a journalist, he keeps talking to various kinds of people, but that does not mean he was involved in the murder.