Berhampur: The number of arrests in the murder of senior advocate and BJP leader Pitabas Panda touched 14 with police taking Sunya Chandra Das (61) into custody on Tuesday evening.
Though SP (Berhampur) Saravana Vivek M had earlier said that Das had no role in the murder, he confirmed his arrest on Wednesday for allegedly provided shelter to the hired sharp shooters from Bihar along with Malaya Bisoi and Madan Dalei in his house at Alakapuri in Berhampur for four days.
Former Berhampur MLA and present BJD Ganjam district president Bikram Panda and former BeMC Mayor Siba Sankar Dash alias Pintu Das, who allegedly plotted to eliminate Pitabas Panda over political, personal and financial reasons, had roped in Malaya Bisoi and Madan Dalei to execute the plan, who in turn contacted Uma Bisoi, an anti-social, to arrange for shooters.
“On analysis of call detail records (CDR) of accused, it was also ascertained that the contract killers, conspirators and executors communicated with each other several times. It also proves that Das was a part of the conspiracy and harboured the shooters in his house to assist them for commission of the crime,” the SP said.
The shooters from Bihar, hired for Rs 10 lakh, were to execute the murder plan on September 14, but it was aborted after one of them had to return home due to a medical emergency. Following which, Uma Bisoi arranged for local sharpshooters, Kurupati Bhuyan and Chintu Pradhan, who shot Pitabas Panda near his home in Baikuntha Nagar, under Baidyanathpur police limits, while he was returning on a scooter on the night of October 6.
Earlier, police had arrested Bikram Panda, Pintu Das, Malaya Bisoi, Madan Dalei, one of the shooters Chintu Pradhan, along with Bipin Swain and Simanchal Nayak, who did the recce and showed the escape route to the shooters from Bihar, along with Jogendra Raut, who took care of the logistics. Besides Das, Sunil Hota, a resident of Jeypore, was also arrested for harbouring the accused in his farmhouse.