Congress candidate Manoj Jena murder case: 2 accused nabbed after encounter

Berhampur: Two dreaded criminals allegedly involved in the brutal murder of Congress’ Aska MLA candidate Manoj Jena were arrested after a police encounter in Berhampur late Friday night. The accused- Ganesh Nayak and Hrushi Patra, who have been injured in the encounter, are now undergoing treatment at a hospital. Both are stated to be wanted in several cases of murder, snatching and arson.

It is pertinent to mention here that unidentified miscreants had opened fire at Congress candidate from Aska Manoj Jena near Lanjipalli in Berhampur on May 22. He was then admitted to the MKCG Medical College and Hospital for treatment where he succumbed to his injuries on May 24.

The district police launched a manhunt to nab the culprits and during the course of investigation, police identified involvement of five wanted criminals in the murder.

Berhampur SP Pinak Mishra today briefed that a special team of police formed to trace the culprits received information about the movement of criminals near Golanthara area.

Cops intercepted the miscreants while they were moving to some place in Golanthara area last night and later caught them after a brief exchange of fire. While two persons were arrested, three of their associates managed to escape from the spot. Police recovered two country-made firearms, live ammunition and a motorcycle from their possession, said sources.

SP Mishra said, "Scientific investigation into the murder case is going on smoothly and we have managed to get headway into the case fairly well. So far, we have got leads into various details of the murder like prime accused, motive behind the murder, plan of execution and others, but we have not got any evidence whether there is any political angle behind the murder.”

The SP also added, “Three more suspects are yet to be nabbed and we believe after their arrest we will get a larger picture behind the crime.”