Reported by Santosh Jagdev
Bhubaneswar, Oct 14:

After hectic, day-long investigation, commissionerate police, have managed to identify the assailant who stabbed three persons, including senior doctor Dr Atulya Meher, to death at Khandagiri Vihar in the Odisha capital this morning.

CCTV cameras installed at Dr. Meher's house have captured the entire crime sequence CCTV cameras installed at Dr. Meher's house have captured the entire crime sequence

After scanning the the vividly captured CCTV footage of the crime, the police have identified the assailant, who himself was also injured during the scuffle, as Sneha Swakhyar Samal (40), a medicine store owner staying at Sailashree Vihar under Chandrasekharpur police limits here.

Samal is currently undergoing treatment in a city hospital.

Briefing media persons here this evening, twin city commissioner of police (CP) Dr R P Sharma revealed that Samal, who has a bachelor's degree in Pharmacy from Rourkela, was running a medicine store at Kanan Vihar in the city. Six months before, he was engaged as a medicine representative and lives with parents, wife and two children.

"Though the motive behind the heinous crime has not been ascertained so far, careful examination of the the CCTV footage makes it  clear that it was a totally pre-planned murder," Sharma said.

Narrating the sequence of events, the CP said the the crime took place between 6.30 am and 7.20 am. A restless looking Samal left home early this morning. He told his parents he was leaving for Astaranga in Puri district on some work.

At about 6.35 am, Samal went to the residence of Dr Meher, an Orthopedic Surgeon working at Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) hospital, situated in Khandagiri Vihar. Dressed up like a gentleman, he carried two bags containing a pair of dress, a flower bouquet and six sharp edged weapons.

After entering the house, the accused attacked Prasanta Behera, caretaker of Dr Meher, with a knife causing the latter's instant death. When Minu Behera (15) and Runu Behera (36), the elder son and wife respectively of Prashant protested, the accused brutally attacked them with the knife causing severe injuries to both.

When Dr Meher arrived on the scene after hearing the shrieks, he too was attacked with a knife by the accused in the presence of his mother and wife. The accused then tried to escape after changing into the other pair of clothes that he had come with.

Later, Samal was handed over to the police by the local people who apprehended him with injuries sustained during the scuffle.

While Dr Meher and Minu succumbed to their injuries, Runu is in a critical state and is undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital here. Police said the condition of the accused, who was also admitted in the same hospital, was stable.

Khandagiri police has registered a case (number- 483/14), slapping charges under sections 450, 302 of IPC on the accused.

Meanwhile, the bodies of all the deceased persons, after post mortem, were handed over to their family members for cremation. “Further investigation regarding the motive and other aspects of this ghastly incident is in progress,” said Dr Sharma