Bhubaneswar: Almost a week after lensman Manas Swain’s body was exhumed from Odisha’s Nayagarh district, two eyewitnesses on Friday claimed to have seen web channel owner Sarmistha Rout slap him while demanding for his camera and memory card.
There were five people, including 2 women and one among them was Sarmistha. They later took him in a vehicle to Bhubaneswar. This incident took place on the day (February 7) Swain went missing while returning from Palaspur village under Chandbali police limits after a video shoot of a wedding.
One of the eyewitnesses is a web portal reporter. He was present at the spot and told a local channel that they asked Swain to accompany them when he told him that he had kept the chip in Bhubaneswar.
His statement has been recorded in court.
The person, on whose scooter Swain was riding pillion, said that they were stopped by a vehicle with press written on it. They then took him with them. He also confirmed that a woman had slapped him.
On Thursday, the Commissionerate Police had formed a special squad to nab the absconding web channel owner, who allegedly plotted his murder. Three kidnappers, Bhagyadhar Nayak (26), Bebek Nayak (19) and Krushna Chandra Nayak (50), whom police had arrested on March 12 had confessed to having killed Swain at Dayal Ashram run by Sarmistha in Bhubaneswar the same night and later they buried the body in Ranapur area of Nayagarh to destroy evidence.
Also Read: The ‘Missing’ Woman Owner Of Web Channel & CPU Chip In Odisha Lensman Murder
They also told police to have committed the murder at the behest of Sarmistha.
It is being suspected that Swain was in possession of some controversial videos and photos, which could have landed her in trouble
