Odia web portal editor who masterminded cameraman’s murder arrested from a bus

Manas Swain, the 28-year-old photographer of Sampurna News, had gone missing on February 7 when he went to Chandbali area of Bhadrak district to shoot a wedding ceremony. His family members in Nayagarh district filed a missing report with Chandbali police on February 14.

Updated on: Mar 29, 2022, 24:46:14 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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The editor of an Odia fortnightly and web portal, who has been accused of masterminding the murder of a 28-year-old cameraman working with her, was arrested on Monday after being on the run for over 45 days.

Sharmistha Rout, editor of Odia fortnightly and a web channel called Sampurna News, was arrested by a team of state CID and local police from a bus near Bhadrak town while she was on her way to Bhubaneswar from Kolkata. (SOURCED.)

Police officials said Sharmistha Rout, editor of Odia fortnightly and a web channel called Sampurna News, was arrested by a team of state CID and local police from a bus near Bhadrak town while she was on her way to Bhubaneswar from Kolkata. Her accomplice Jhuna Bhoi was also arrested along with her.

“Sharmistha Rout and Jhuna Bhoi will be produced in the court of a judicial magistrate first class in Chandbali of Bhadrak on Monday. We will apply for a 10-day police remand of the seven accused arrested in connection with the case,” said additional director general of CID, Sanjeeb Panda.

Manas Swain, the 28-year-old photographer of Sampurna News, had gone missing on February 7 when he went to Chandbali area of Bhadrak district to shoot a wedding ceremony. His family members in Nayagarh district filed a missing report with Chandbali police on February 14 following which a case under sections 373 and 34 of Indian Penal Code was registered. On March 12, Swain’s decomposed body was recovered from a paddy field in Nayagarh district.

Before the case was handed over to the state CID last week, police in Bhadrak district had arrested six people and were on the lookout for Rout who allegedly orchestrated Swain’s kidnapping, murder and subsequent disposal of the body. The police believe that Swain was murdered over a memory chip which he refused to hand over to Rout.

Among the arrested are Niranjan Sethi, who once served as PRO to former chief minister Giridhari Gomang and a Governor. Sethi, who served as director (technical) of the Odisha information and public relations department till February 28, had empanelled Rout’s fortnightly for grant of government advertisements on the day of his retirement.

During their investigation police found that Swain was riding a two-wheeler with one of his associates on pillion on February 7 morning when five people including main accused Rout stopped him and asked him to hand over the memory chip. When Swain refused to give the memory chip, he was forced into Sharmistha’s car and brought to first floor of Dayal Ashram, an old age home run by Rout on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. Swain was severely beaten on February 7. The next day he was found dead following which the accused buried his body at Budhipatna area of Nayagarh district.

The issue of Swain’s murder was raised in the Assembly on Monday with Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja demanding a CBI probe into the case. “Swain’s mother Jayanti had cited the involvement of minister of state for home Dibya Shankar Mishra. Even in Mamita murder case, the minister’s name had surfaced. Why is there no action against him? The probe should be handed over to CBI,” said Saluja.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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