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Odisha businessman abducted, tortured, murdered by niece, accomplices: Police
Niece, boyfriend hire contract killers to abduct, murder Ganjam businessman over property dispute; 9 arrested, police say.
A week after a 47-year-old businessman from Ganjam district was reported missing, police on Thursday said his 23-year-old niece conspired with her boyfriend and hired contract killers to abduct and murder him in a revenge plot linked to family disputes.
The high-profile case involving the missing real estate businessman, Sudhir Kumar Patra, from the Gopalpur area of Ganjam district was linked to festering intra-family resentment over property, eventually leading to his abduction and murder.
All the nine accused in the case were arrested from multiple locations following coordinated raids based on technical surveillance and field intelligence, police said.
Patra was abducted at gunpoint on the evening of April 15 while returning home after playing volleyball in Gopalpur, Ganjam’s superintendent of police (SP), Suvendu Patra, said.
The businessman’s wife, Rasmita Kumari Patra, filed a complaint the next day, alleging that unidentified persons had abducted her husband and demanded a ransom of ₹2 crore, threatening to kill him.
“Patra after being abducted was first transported in a Bolero vehicle and later shifted to another car near Polasara in Ganjam district to evade detection. He was taken to a forested area known as Rama Pada jungle under Buguda police limits, where he was brutally assaulted with wooden planks and threatened with a gun. The assault was recorded on video and sent to his wife to pressure the family into paying the ransom,” said Patra.
The ransom plot failed once Patra succumbed to his injuries, forcing the abductors to dump the body near Ketamani Hills under Sorada police limits. The maggot-infested body was recovered on Wednesday following which it was sent for post-mortem examination.
The SP said the alleged mastermind, Nibedita Patra, 23, the daughter of the victim’s late elder brother Manoj Kumar Patra, harboured resentment against her paternal uncle following longstanding disputes over property and business interests. “Manoj Kumar Patra died in June 2025 at the age of 49 following prolonged illness, after which tensions escalated between the two families.”
“Manoj Patra’s family blamed Sudhir for the untimely death and suspected foul play, including allegations of black magic. The hostility deepened due to disagreements related to their joint real estate business, eventually leading to a conspiracy to take revenge,” he said.
Nibedita who was in relationship with co-accused Kalu Charan Pradhan for last five years shared information about the Patra’s movements. Her younger brother, Tushar Patra, 19, was also in contact with the accused and allegedly participated in the planning.
Pradhan, police said, subsequently contacted other associates, including contract killers from Surat in Gujarat and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, to execute the abduction and murder. The accused later fled to different locations to avoid arrest. “The accused tried different methods to hoodwink the police by using different SIMs and phone trackers. But sustained interrogation of the mastermind revealed everything,” the SP said.
The arrested persons in the case are Nibedita Patra, Tushar Kumar Patra, Kalu Charan Pradhan, Jitun Polai, Narayan Pradhan, Ashis Mahapatra, Subham Nayak, Subham Gouda and Surya Pratap Singh alias Golu.
Police said further arrests could follow as the investigation continues. Two vehicles allegedly used in the crime, 14 mobile phones belonging to the accused and a country-made 7.65 pistol have been seized.
