Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Puri, Jun 11:

A day after the broad daylight firing incident near Patnaikia square in Odisha’s Puri district, police today detained three persons in connection with the investigation over the killing of a person by unidentified assailants.

Puri loot

Puri police today clarified that the deceased was not the husband of the woman who was riding pillion when two motorcycle-borne miscreants shot the man dead. However, the woman’s conflicting statements have deepened the mystery over the murder.

“The deceased and the woman are not husband-wife. The woman happens to be the sister-in-law of the deceased. We have seized three dual SIM phones and three-four SIM cards from her possession. We have detained the woman, her husband and son for interrogation,” Puri SP Sarthak Sarangi informed.

After the incident took place yesterday afternoon, the woman had reportedly identified herself as the wife of the deceased. However, when the relatives from either side reached district headquarters hospital, the truth came to the fore.

Police have detained Renubala Behera, her husband Chandrakant and son Biplab for further interrogation.

The cops are investigating the case from various angles including a pre-planned murder theory, sources said.

It may be mentioned that armed bike-borne miscreants waylaid Manoranjan Behera (48) and Renubala (42) near Patnaikia square on NH-316 at around 1.30 pm while they were on their way to Puri for darshan of Lord Jagannath. The miscreants allegedly snatched the woman’s necklace and bangles. When Manoranjan resisted, the assailants fired two rounds of bullets killing him.