Berhampur, Oct 22: In a major breakthrough in the murder investigation of BJP leader and advocate Pitabash Panda, Berhampur Superintendent of Police Dr. Saravana Vivek M on Wednesday revealed crucial details about the conspiracy and those involved.

The SP confirmed that 12 individuals have been arrested so far, including former Berhampur Mayor Shiv Shankar Dash alias Pintu Das, ex-MLA and current BJD Ganjam district president Bikram Panda, his close associate Madan Dalai, and BJD Corporator Malaya Bishoyi. Meanwhile, three accused remain at large, with an intensified manhunt underway to apprehend them.

Sequence of Events

It all began with a conspiracy led by Bikram Panda, Shiv Shankar Dash (alias Pintu Das) and few of their associates. According to the investigation, the deal was worth ₹50 lakh for the crime.

The conspirators had finalised to execute the crime — murder of Pitabash Panda — on September 14. Uma Bishoyi and Jogindar Rout struck a deal with the sharpshooters from Bihar — Sishupal Paswan and Kundan Kumar. The sharpshooters were given ₹5 lakh in advance and were assured of another ₹5 lakh after the crime.

Also read: Pitabash Panda Murder Case: Power, Politics, and Revenge!

Sishupal and Kundan arrived in Berhampur on September 10. Malaya Bishoyi arranged their stay in Alakapuri. Sunya Chandra Das — the owner of the house, where the Bihar duo was staying — was told that they were in the city for medical treatment at MKCG Medical College & Hospital.

The owner had his doubts and eventually he asked about the situation of Sishupal and Kundan. The duo, however, told him that they were having the medical treatment at a private hospital. The answer confused the owner, who didn’t go deep into their matter considering Malaya Bishoyi’s involvement.

The sharpshooters mapped the locality of the crime area, planning their escape routes to execute a perfect crime. However, the plans foiled after one of the sharpshooters faced actual medical emergency, which resulted in the duo’s return to Bihar.

Baffled by the development, Uma Bishoyi swiftly arranged two men from his locality — Chintu Pradhan & Kurupati Bhuyan. Chintu was in Bengaluru, while Kurupati was in his village. Uma struck a deal of ₹8 lakh with the duo — ₹5 lakh for the shooter and ₹3 lakh for the driver.

Once Chintu and Kurupati arrived in Berhampur, their stay was arranged at a bachelor’s hostel near Pitabash Panda’s residence. The duo mapped the locality, finalised their escape route, finding out all the relevant details about Pitabash Panda.

Chintu and Kurupati were given new shirts, pants, shoes and one country-made gun, and another pistol for backup, as well as a bike. Notably, the duo didn’t have their mobile phones with them.

And then came the D-Day — October 6. Pitabash Panda was returning to his residence, and at around 10 pm, the Chintu and Kurupati stopped Panda, greeting him with “Pitabash Panda Sir, Namaskar” — just to confirm his identity. Once they confirmed the identity, Kurupati opened fire at Panda, while Chintu was on the driver’s seat.

Once they executed their plan, the duo fled the scene. They disposed the dresses, shoes, guns, and the bike before Chintu fleeing to Puri via Bhubaneswar, before returning to Bengaluru, while Kurupati fled to Jeypore, where he was sheltered by Sunil Hota — a close associate of Bikram Panda. They left their bike at a tea stall in Rameshwar. A man stole the bike before selling it to a scrape dealer.