Berhampur: Body of realtor, Sudhir Patra (47), was recovered on Wednesday, a week after he was allegedly kidnapped from Gopalpur in Odisha’s Ganjam district.
Patra, a resident of Satyanarayanpur village near Gopalpur and involved in land and plot dealings primarily in areas like Balugaon, Nachuni, and Khallikote, was abducted on the evening of April 15 while returning home on his motorcycle after playing volleyball. The incident occurred around 8 pm in the Dura Defence Colony area under Gopalpur police limits. His motorcycle was later found at the spot, following which his family filed a police complaint.
The night he was abducted, his family received an anonymous call demanding Rs 2 crore in ransom for the realtor’s release. A video of him allegedly being beaten, kicked, assaulted with sticks, and shot in the hand, was also sent to the relatives. No further communication followed.
On Wednesday, police received information about a decomposed body near Rashipankal bridge close to Balapanka village under Sorada police limits. A team, including forensic experts and family members, reached the spot, the body was identified by the clothing Patra wore at the time of abduction, as it was too decomposed for visual recognition. Postmortem was conducted on-site, and the remains were handed over to the family for last rites. “The body was highly decomposed and was not in a position to be carried to MKCG Medical College for postmortem,” Berhampur Sadar SDPO Subhransu Parida.
It is being suspected that the realtor was killed shortly after the abduction on April 15 night.
More than eight persons, including the alleged lover of Patra’s niece, have since been arrested or detained in connection with the incident. Some of the suspects have been identified as Kalu Charan Pradhan, Shubham Nayak, Shubham Goud, and Jitun Palei. Though a land dispute is suspected to be the reason behind the crime, police are investigating other possible motives.
