A team of the Paradip police on Wednesday raided the house of Odisha Stevedores limited (OSl) managing director Mahimananda Mishra located at Baramunda here in connection with the murder of Seaways Shipping and logistics Private limited (SSPl) general manager Mahendra Swain at Paradip October 26.
Jagatsinghpur SP Jai Narayan Pankaj said, “We had received information about presence of Mahima Mishra at his Baramunda house. Acting on it, a team of the Paradip police conducted a raid at the house. However, he was not there. People present in the house were questioned.”
Notably, the police had also raided Mishra’s farmhouse at Nischintakoili in Cuttack district, Empires Hotel at Saheed Nagar in Bhubaneswar and his house at Odia Bazar in Cuttack city last month. Some incriminating documents were reportedly seized during the raids.
A lookout Circular has since long been issued against Mishra in connection with Swain’s murder. Mishra had moved the Orissa High Court seeking anticipatory bail and challenging the lookout Circular, but the court denied interim protection to him.
Meanwhile, the firearms licences of Mishra and his son Charchit have been cancelled by police.
Probing into the murder case, the Paradip police have so far arrested five accused, Rakesh Chaubey and Riyasat Hussain of Jamshedpur, Muhammad Samin of Jharkhand and Manoj Gochhayat and Shiva of Cuttack.
Sources said Chaubey had received `12 lakh allegedly from the OSl to arrange a contract killer for Swain’s murder. Chaubey had reportedly engaged Hussain to kill Swain.