Post News Network
Chhatrapur, Feb 20: Over eight months after the murder of Khallikote-based TV scribe Tarun Kumar Acharya, police arrested the main accused from Nagpur of Maharashtra Thursday, said Ganjam superintendent of police Narasingha Bhol while addressing a press meet Friday.
The accused was identified as Santosh Maharana of Lochapada under Sadar police station here. Santosh would be taken on remand for further interrogation and details of his bank account will be checked. Bhol added that a team of police had spread a net in Nagpur for a week to arrest Santosh and managed to nab him Thursday.
Bhol pointed out that owner of a cashew processing unit, P Shyam Sundar Prusty, had given `50,000 ‘supari’ (ransom) to killers to eliminate Acharya. Even though Prusty, who was arrested earlier, had admitted the fact, Santosh is yet to clarify on the issue. Police said Acharya had published a news against Prusty’s cashew unit mentioning that child labourers were engaged in the factory. Enraged, over the fact, Prusty planned to eliminate Acharya. He paid `50,000 to Santosh, Guddu and Ramesh alias Narayan Reddy. Santosh was working in Prusty’s cashew unit two years ago.
In order to execute his plan, Prusty booked a room in a hotel at Barakul from May 26 to 28 last year through Suresh Chandra Sahu of Langaleswar. The accused killed Acharya by slitting his throat May 27 night outside the Berhampur excise office. Later, police had arrested four persons including Prusty, Ramesh, Suresh and journalist Shibaram Nayak of Khallikote.
After killing Acharya, Santosh was working as a carpenter in Mumbai, Goa and Nagpur. He was identifying himself to be hailing from Chhattisgarh in order to evade police arrest.
Police are trying to ascertain Santosh’s involvement in the murder of Priyaranjan Panda of Nirmaljhar of Khallikote. Another accused Nrusingha Charan Panda alias Guddu has been absconding.
