Bhubaneswar: In another breakthrough in the September 30 sexual assault of an IT employee in Bhubaneswar, the Commissionerate Police on Sunday arrested a local garage owner and a staffer on charges of purchasing and dismantling a stolen motorcycle used by the prime accused.
The accused, garage owner Harinarayan Prasad, 36, and mechanic Nishikant Sahoo, 31, were taken into custody from the Mancheswar area.
According to police, the prime suspect, 24-year-old Sreedhar Panda alias Santosh, sneaked into the victim’s house in Nayapalli on the evening of September 30 with the intent to commit a theft. When the woman resisted, Panda allegedly sexually assaulted by threatening her with a lighter designed to look like a handgun. He then walked to a nearby flyover, took an Ama Bus to Fire Station Square board, before taking an auto-rickshaw to Market Building, where he stole a motorcycle. Panda subsequently sold the stolen vehicle to Prasad.
Also Read: How A Theft Attempt Turned Into Sexual Assault In Bhubaneswar, Suspect Used Gun-Shaped Lighter
To destroying evidence linked to the stolen motorcycle, Prasad and Sahoo completely dismantled it, planning to reuse its components across other vehicles while retaining specific parts for Panda’s own motorbike.
Police clarified that while Panda acted alone in committing the sexual assault, the garage duo actively aided him after the crime by attempting to destroy evidence. Prasad and Sahoo are being questioned to ascertain whether they were aware of Panda’s involvement in the rape.
Speaking to the media, Commissioner of Police S Dev Datta Singh had earlier said that that police had obtained a clear photograph of the suspect within 13 to 14 hours, captured on CCTV camera when he left the house and another while boarding the Ama bus, but his identity could not be established immediately. “He took the bus, then an auto, later stole a bike. However, we were unable to track his movement thereafter,” he noted, adding that a massive manhunt was launched involving around 100 personnel divided into multiple teams, who manually circulated his photograph to gather leads, over the next 48 hours.
Panda, who has a prior criminal record involving two theft cases, was formally arrested on Sunday after being discharge from the hospital, where he was treated for injuries sustained during a police encounter on Saturday, and remanded to judicial custody.
This recovery has led police to suspect his possible involvement in a organised vehicle theft and dismantling racket operating across Bhubaneswar and neighbouring regions.
