Ganjam scribe murder: Main accused court-forwarded

The Ganjam police on Saturday court-forwarded Santosh Maharana, main accused of the journalist Tarun Acharya murder case, after arresting him from Nagpur in Maharashtra on Thursday.Ganjam SP Narasingh Bhola talking to reporters at Chhatrapur said they brought Maharana from Nagpur on Friday to produce him before court. The main accused, a native of lochapada village on the outskirts of the city, was absconding from the day of the incident that happened on May 27, 2014.

He said they would pray the local court to take accused Maharana on remand to interrogate further about other accused involved in the case.

After the murder, Bhola said, the accused had gone to Mumbai and then changed his hidings to Goa and Nagpur in a regular interval fearing police action. The Ganjam police got tangible leads about his hiding two weeks ago and sent a police team to Nagpur to nab the culprit. The team kept close watch on movement of Maharana and finally arrested him on Thursday.

The SP said Maharana had received Rs 50, 000 as contract to kill Khallikote-based reporter Acharya. Cashew nut factory owner P Shyamsundar Prusti, who was already arrested by the police, had reportedly paid money for the murder.It may be noted that Prusti, owner of the Bimala Cashew nut factory located at Bharasa near Khallikote in the district, had targeted Acharya for publishing a news item pertaining to illegal employment and exploitation of child laborers in the factory.

According to the blueprint made by Prusti, the contract killers led by Maharana killed Acharya on May 27 night last year near the Khallikote police station while the scribe was returning to his village Bikrampur. The police investigating into the matter had arrested four culprits, including a scribe, earlier.

Bhola said the police have started a manhunt to nab another accused involved in the case. 

Meanwhile, deceased scribe’s brother Tapan, a lawyer by profession, had filed a petition before the High Court praying it not to grant bail to the accused. After filing of the petition, Tapan reportedly had received threat calls from the Kodala jail. As a sequel to this developing incident and on receipt of the complaint, the police had registered another case against the accused Prusti, Ramesh and Suresh at the Khallikote police Station. Villagers have demanded security to Tapan’s family members to meet emerging threat from the accused.