Insight Bureau: Seven days have passed since the cameraman Manas Swain’s body was exhumed from Badhipatna village under Ranapur police limits in Nayagarh, however, the prime accused in this case, a woman Sharmistha Rout remained untraceable.
Sharmistha, the owner of a web portal (Sampurna News) and the employer of cameraman Manas Swain reportedly found to be the mastermind behind the murder of Swain.
She allegedly engaged contract killers to eliminate the cameraman and bury the body in his native village. So far three persons have been arrested in this connection.
An eyewitness, a journalist of ‘Swadhikar’ spilled the beans. He told the media that Sharmistha confronted Manas on Chandbali-Palaspur road, slapped him twice while querying about a mysterious “memory chip” and then took him away in a car. She was accompanied by her associates.
Reports suggest that Manas wast taken to Bhubaneswar where he died during torture/interrogation. They later buried his body near Badhipatana Hills at Raja Sunakhala in Nayagarh district. Sharmistha and 3 of her associates are still on the run.