Post News Network
Cuttack, Oct 11: The Crime Branch Saturday took the couple arrested for the murder of four members a family at Dinadia under Astarang police limits in Puri on a four-day remand. The couple was then taken to the crime spot, where two bloodstained knives purportedly used in the murders were recovered.
The couple – Himadri Sekhar Das alias Rahim Khan and his wife Ayesha Begum – was produced before Nimapara JMFC court. Although the Crime Branch (CB) sought a 10-day remand for their further interrogation, the court granted four-day remand, informed ADG (Crime Branch) Bijay Kumar Sharma. The couple was arrested by CB officials from Hailakhandi district in Assam and brought to Cuttack Friday.
Earlier in the day, a team of CB officials interrogated the couple and extracted many crucial pieces of information from them about the murders. After the interrogation, the CB officials took the couple to the crime spot, where the couple described the whole episode of the murder of retired Puri district inspector (DI) of schools Dinabandhu Mallick, his wife Nirmala and their two minor daughters.
The CB officials also recovered from the house two knives which they said were used in the murders. “The bloodstained knives were sent to a forensic lab in Bhubaneswar for test. Six platoons of police were deployed at the village to maintain law and order,” said Sharma.
The stolen motorcycle of Mallick was also recovered by CB officials from a dilapidated house in Bhubaneswar. The mobile phones stolen from Mallick’s home were also recovered from Silchar in Assam.
Speaking on the developments, retired DGP Gopal Chandra Nanda said: “It is a highly sensational case. The CB should investigate the case from all angles. People should thoroughly examine the background of unknown persons before giving them shelter in their houses”.
Senior advocate Bijay Kumar Das said, “The case had become a challenge for the Crime Branch. After arresting the accused, now CB officials should gather more information about the accused so that they are awarded befitting punishment for their inhuman act”.