Bhubaneswar: The police have interrogated at least 50 people in connection with the murder of senior lawyer and BJP leader Pitabas Panda in Odisha’s Berhampur city on October 6.

This was revealed by Berhampur Superintendent of Police (SP) Saravana Vivek today.

“We have interrogated at least 50 people in connection with the murder case. Employees of Panda’s office, people working in shops near his office and home, witnesses and several others have been quizzed. Five to six persons have been interrogated on suspicion of their involvement in the crime,” said the SP.

The police have examined the CCTV camera footage from the locality and identified some suspicious elements. The cops are now verifying details about these suspicious elements, he revealed.  

“We have found some clues to the incident from the CCTV footage. A luxury vehicle was seen in the close proximity of the crime spot during the examination of the CCTV footage. We have summoned the occupants of the vehicle for interrogation,” said the SP.

The bullet, retrieved from Panda’s body, has been sent for ballistic examination. The police have, meanwhile, received the reports from the scientific experts, he added. “We are waiting for the postmortem report to get more clues,” said the SP

It is worth mentioning here that Panda was shot dead by two unidentified miscreants near his home in Berhampur.

The bike-borne miscreants opened fire on Panda outside his residence at Brahmanagar under Baidyanathpur police limits around 10 pm on October 6 and fled the spot.

Panda, a member of Odisha State Bar Council, sustained bullet injuries on his chest and was rushed to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition. However, he was declared dead on arrival by the doctors.