The investigation into the murder of BJP leader and lawyer Pitabash Panda in Odisha’s Berhampur is close to being completed, with more than 100 people questioned over the matter, police said Tuesday.
They also said that some people had been detained, including some from outside Odisha, and added that further details would be made public in the next couple of days. However, no arrests have been made yet.
According to police, a “business rivalry” is suspected to be behind the murder, and officers said they have gathered physical and scientific evidence related to the crime.
“There has been significant development in the investigation into the murder case. We are at the last stage of the probe. The details will be revealed in a day or two,” said Niti Shekhar, Inspector General, Southern Range.
Panda, who was a member of the Odisha Bar Council, was shot dead by two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants near his home in Berhampur late in the evening on October 6. The murder triggered widespread anger regarding the law-and-order situation in the state.
It was also a challenge for the BJP government in Odisha, with the Bar Council of India (BCI) demanding that a special investigation team (SIT) be set up to probe the case in a time-bound manner, and lawyers across Odisha observing a pen-down strike.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has assured exemplary punishment for the culprits in the case. Senior officials, who had handled the law-and-order situation in Berhampur earlier, were roped in while multiple teams were formed in effort to successfully carry out the investigation.
