Police here are planning to jointly interrogate mafia don Susant Dhalasamant and former BJD Corporator Ranjeeta Biswal to ascertain the sources and routes of seized firearms and their plans of eliminating several persons, including some policemen. While the police have already applied to the relevant court seeking remand of Dhalasamant, who is now in the Jharpada jail in Bhubaneswar, sources said Ranjeeta, who was arrested on Wednesday, would also be taken on remand for questioning.
“We will move the court seeking remand of Ranjeeta Biswal for custodial interrogation; and there are plans to question her and Susant face-to-face to find out the sources of the seized arms and ammunitions,” said Cuttack city DCP Akhileswar Singh on Thursday. He said the purpose of the joint interrogation is to ascertain from them about the plans they had to commit heinous crimes in the city.
The police on Wednesday had arrested Ranjeeta on the charges of conspiring and abetting crimes. The police claimed that Ranjeeta had received three sophisticated pistols and 60 rounds of bullets from an unknown source; and on the instruction of Susant from the jail, she had given the firearms to a sharpshooter, who was recently released from the Jharpada jail on bail.
While Ranjeeta claimed that she was innocent and was being framed by a certain policeman against whom she had lodged an FIR at the Bidanasi police station, the city police maintained that they have got clinching evidence against the journalist-turned-politician, who was closely associated with the social activities undertaken by Susant’s younger brother Sushil.
On the other hand, political mudslinging has started between the BJD and the BJP, each blaming the other for having links with the mafia D-brothers. Barabati-Cuttack BJD MlA Debashis Samantray, who was instrumental in roping in Ranjeeta into politics, said his party would not tolerate any of its leaders having links with criminal elements.
Countering Samantray’s statement, BJP spokesman Sajjan Sharma charged the MlA with having links with the D-brothers and attending functions organised by Sushil’s social organisation.
The BJP also alleged that the BJD had even taken the help of the crime syndicate during the 2014 civic body and general elections in the city.