Dreaded criminal Jitendra Sahu alias Jitu, who is alleged to be involved in the murder of Sanjay Behera alias Para near the Gundicha Temple here in December, was nabbed by police after an encounter on the Pipili-Jatni road in the wee hours of Saturday.
Reports said a special squad of the Kumbharpara and Pipili police nabbed Jitendra after an exchange of fire near Barimula Chhak on the Jatni-Pipili road.
The criminal is stated to be a resident of Abakash lane in Puri and was returning home from Nayagarh when the cops intercepted him near Barimula Chhak. Jitendra initially opened fire and the police also retaliated. During the exchange of fire, Jitendra received bullet injuries on his right leg and was immediately nabbed by the police team. A motorbike, pistol and two live bullets were seized from his possession.
Police sources said that Jitendra was one of the associates of Denga Munna, who led the rival group against Para. There are several criminal cases against him at police stations in Puri and adjoining areas.
Both Para and Denga Munna used to be close friends and jointly carried out anti-social activities in the holy town, but they later parted ways due to growing dispute over business.
Para was critically injured after four miscreants chased and fired three rounds of bullets at him near the Nakachana gate of the Gundicha Temple. He died at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar on December 26.
Suspecting that Denga Munna and his associates including Jitendra were behind the attack, Puri SP Sarthak Sarangi formed a special team led by the Kumbharpada and the Pipili IIC to nab the criminals.
A few days ago, the main conspirator Denga Munna had surrendered before the Nimapara court and was granted bail.