Biranchi murder: prime suspect evades arrest, police raid hideout

The police on Tuesday raided possible hideouts of gangster Raja Acharya, the prime accused in the murder of child runner Budhia Singh’s former trainer Biranchi Das...

The police on Tuesday raided possible hideouts of gangster Raja Acharya, the prime accused in the murder of child runner Budhia Singh’s former trainer Biranchi Das, in Cuttack, Puri and in the city.

Police said they had zeroed in on Acharya, but found it difficult to apprehend the suspected culprits who managed to escape the dragnet despite several raids in their hideouts. Raja Acharya alias Sandeep fled the city after the killing Das on Sunday evening and it was suspected that he had slipped to Puri district soon after the crime.

“We know it is Raja Acharya. But arresting him has become a tough task,” said a senior police official. Asked whether Raja managed to escape because of a nexus with the police, city Police Commissioner Binay Behera said: “It is possible.”

A police sub-inspector has already been suspended in connection with railway scrap deal case, which was also suspected to have links with the killing of Das, he said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is in-charge of Home Department, told reporters that he had taken stock of the situation arising out of the murder of Das, a judo coach.

“The police is on its job and trying its best to nab the culprits,” Patnaik said.

About police inability in nabbing the killers, who escaped after executing the murder in the heart of the city, Patnaik said: “We are doing our best to maintain law and order.” He dismissed as ‘false’ allegations that a section of the ruling party leaders were patronising criminal elements.

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Meanwhile, Das’s wife has lodged an FIR naming Raja as an accused.