The caretaker of a de-addiction centre at Naharkanta on the outskirts of the city was found murdered on Tuesday.
Soon after the news spread, about 36 of the 45 inmates fled from the centre, police said.
Eyewitnesses said Sumit Ranjan Behera, caretaker of the Prayas De-addiction Centre, was found lying in a room with hands and legs tied. Inmates of the centre said Behera had slept with them before disappearing from the centre after dinner on Monday.
After being informed, police began investigation into the incident.
“We have detained some inmates of the centre in connection with the case. We have sent the body of the deceased for postmortem,” said Bhubaneswar DCP Satyabrat Bhoi. “We had no information about the incident. In the afternoon, we got to know about it. We are investigating the matter to find out what led to the death of the caretaker,” Bhoi stated.
Police sources said the detained inmates would be interrogated to know about the behaviour of the inmates, who fled the centre on Tuesday morning. “We will interrogate the detainees. How many of the inmates are involved in the case can be known only after further investigation,” the DCP said.