₹50L deal struck for Pitabas murder

Over a fortnight after advocate and BJP leader Pitabas Panda was gunned down by miscreants near his house in the Silk City, Berhampur Police Wednesday claimed to have cracked the gruesome murder by arresting BJD district unit president Bikram Panda and 11 others, and revealing that a ₹50-lakh contract was made for the execution.

- SUBASA CHANDRA PADHY, OP

Initially, police arrested two youths from Bihar Kumar Paswan and Kundan who were reportedly brought to Berhampur by Uma Bisoi to carry out the shooting. Bisoi had arranged their stay in a rented accommodation in Alakapuri area with the help of Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) corporator Malay, officers said.

The duo conducted reconnaissance for two days, but abandoned the plan after learning that Pitabas was an advocate, the accused told police. The investigation took a new turn after Malay was interrogated.

According to police, two local political leaders - Bikram, a former MLA, and Pintu - had negotiated a ₹50-lakh deal through intermediaries to eliminate Pitabas. Uma, who lived in Balipada, allegedly took ₹11 lakh from the shooters for the job.

When the Bihar youths returned home, Uma reportedly panicked and then hired two others Kurupati and Chintu from Banthapalli to execute the killing. The two men were housed in a rented building about 200 metres from Pitabas' residence five days before the murder, police said.