Bhubaneswar: Police on Sunday solved Saturday’s daylight murder of a youth in the Mancheswar area by arresting four men, including prime suspect Tanmay Behera (28) who had consumed toxic berries a few hours before his arrest. Police said his condition is stable now and he is no longer at risk.
His two elder brothers — Padmanabh Behera (35) and Prashant Behera (40) — and a car driver, Samir Kumar Swain (25), were arrested for their alleged involvement in aiding Tanmay’s attempted escape following the murder that took place during Holi celebrations.
DCP Jagmohan Meena stated that Tanmay fatally stabbed Ayushman Pati (30) after an altercation in the Mancheswar Industrial Estate area. The two were acquaintances and had previous disputes. The siblings and driver facilitated the accused’s escape. Initially, police detained Padmanabh, Prashant and Samir, who admitted to helping Tanmay flee.
Unaware of his brothers’ detention, Tanmay spoke to them on the phone when police arranged the call to determine his location. During this conversation, he revealed his consumption of toxic berries. “We tracked his phone signal near the Pipili area in Puri district. After alerting Pipili police, we rescued Tanmay and rushed him to Mangalpur community health centre, where he received life-saving treatment. The doctor was promptly informed when we were heading to rescue him,” Meena said. Investigations revealed that Tanmay, Padmanabh and Samir had previous criminal records involving assault, theft and drug trafficking in Bhubaneswar.
DCP Meena said the police have also solved Saturday’s Santipali murder case. The Saheed Nagar police arrested one person and detained a 17-year-old minor regarding a murder at Santipali slum during Holi celebrations. Gopi Guni (25) was stabbed to death by three individuals, including the minor, following a spar. “During Holi celebrations, an altercation broke out between the accused and deceased, who belonged to the same locality. We have arrested Bana Guni (20) and detained the minor. We are pursuing the third accused, Pinku Guni (38),” said DCP Meena.