Bhubaneswar: It was Niranjan Sethi, retired Odisha Information Service (OIS) officer, who provided the vehicle and Rs 10,000 to Sarmistha Rout, prime accused in the abduction and murder of cameraman Manas Swain, to flee to Kaliapani area in Jajpur district.
After murdering Manas and disposing of his body, Sarmistha along with associate Jhuna Bhoi fled in the vehicle to Koipasi village in Kaliapani area, where her mother-in-law lives. They stayed there for three days, from where they fled to West Bengal.
Eight persons have been arrested in the case so far — Sarmistha (owner of a web portal based in Bhubaneswar and editor of a magazine named Sampoorna); Sethi, former Director (Technical) of Odisha’s Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Department; Jhuna, Sethi’s associate Ranjan Nayak, Bhagyadhar Nayak, Vivek Nayak, Krushna Chandra Nayak and Sarmistha’s brother Parameswar.
Sethi has also reportedly admitted to having beaten cameraman Manas on February 7 at the Sampoorna office after shifting him from Dayal Ashram. Sarmistha, Raj, Jhuna and her husband along with a computer operator and Sarmistha’s sister-in-law were present at the spot.
The Odisha Crime Branch had taken Sethi, Sarmistha and two other accused on a five-day remand for interrogation. The remand ends today. The Crime Branch also recreated the crime scene on Friday, from which more details have emerged about how the murder took place and how the body was disposed of.
They also visited Sharmishta’s office- Sampoorna on Saturday for further investigation. However, several crucial documents and office items from Sarmistha’s Bhubaneswar Sky Tower flat have reportedly gone missing. It is being suspected that Sarmistha’s sister-in-law who had been staying at the flat for the past few days had decamped with the papers and belongings.
Feb 6
Sarmistha along with other accused allegedly reached Palaspur village under Chandbali police limits in Bhadrak district on February 6 night to kidnap Manas, who had gone there to shoot a wedding function.
Feb 7
During interrogation, Sarmistha reportedly confessed to have kidnapped Manas from Palaspur village on February 7 morning. On Friday, the Crime Branch took Sarmistha to the spot from where Manas was kidnapped.
The Crime Branch took Sarmistha, Jhunu, Sethi and Ranjan Nayak in two vehicles to the spot from where Manas was allegedly kidnapped.
Sarmistha was first taken to Palaspur village. She was also taken to Dolamandap at Dadhimuhan ghata, the wedding venue where Manas had gone for the shoot.
After allegedly kidnapping him, the accused drove to Dayal Ashram old age home in Bhubaneswar, where they reached the same day. The home was run by Sarmistha.
Feb 8
Manas was allegedly brutally assaulted at the old age home, resulting in his death. On February 8, the accused allegedly took the body to Ranpur area in Nayagarh district, where it was buried.
From Bhadrak, the Crime Branch team on Friday brought Sarmistha to Dayal Ashram at Sundarpada in the capital city. She explained the way Manas was killed and where the murder weapons were disposed of.
Sarmistha and Jhuna had purchased a jute bag, gloves and rope from Unit-1 market in Bhubaneswar. On the way, they also bought 10 kg salt from Rajsunakhala in Nayagarh district as they thought it would help in faster decomposition of the body.
They allegedly decided to bury the body near Nuakatni in Badhipatna under Ranpur police limits of Nayagarh district. The spot is 10-12 km from Manas’ village.
The accused then drove towards the Daitari-Paradip highway, about 2 km from Chandikhole. Around midnight, they disposed of a spade, saree, bag and other items used in the offence.
Bhagyadhar and Ranjan had purchased the spade from Rajsunakhala.
Sarmistha and Jhuna were nabbed by a joint team of Bhadrak police and the Crime Branch from Nalanga area in Bhadrak district on March 25 while they were travelling in a bus from Kolkata.
The duo reportedly travelled to Guwahati and Kolkata but soon had to spend nights at railway stations as they ran out of money. They were possibly apprehended while proceeding towards Chandbali with an intention to give themselves up before the court, sources said.
Manas had worked as a cameraman with her web channel for about six months before quitting the job in January after a fall-out with her. The crime was reportedly committed over a memory chip containing objectionable video and photos that could have landed Sarmistha in trouble. Sethi allegedly monitored the entire crime.
