BDO Abduction Case: 3 Arrested In Balangir

Balangir: Three persons were arrested from Suliamal village under Sainatala police station limits of Balangir for their alleged involvement in the abduction of Puintala BDO Saroj Mishra.

The accused persons have been identified as Manoranjan Negi, Manoranjan Karmi and Meghanad Pradhan. The police also seized an SUV from their possession.

Acting on a tip-off, the police conducted raids in Suliamal village on Sunday and arrested Karmi and Negi, who had allegedly abducted the BDO. Later, with the help of Karmi and Negi, the police arrested Pradhan, who had provided them shelter.

Prime accused Raghunath Gurandi, the block vice-chairman, is still on the run, sources said.

On the afternoon of March 29, the BDO was allegedly kidnapped from his office at Puintala before the police rescued him near the sub-collector’s office that evening.

Later, Balangir SP K. Siva Subramani and collector Arindam Dakua held a closed-door discussion with the BDO to know the circumstances under which he was abducted and the possible motive.

Talking to mediapersons, the SP confirmed that the BDO was abducted by the vice-chairperson of Puintala block, Raghunath Gurandi, and some of his supporters. The police had identified him while examining CCTV footage. They are on the lookout for other accused in the incident.