Key accused of Bharatpur triple murder case held

--property dispute led to murder: CP

BHUBANESWAR: After two days of search operation, the Commissionerate Police on Thursday arrested main accused of the triple murder which occurred in Bharatpur area on the outskirts of the city on Tuesday.

The police team led by DCP Bhubaneswar Satyabrata Bhoi nabbed accused Shiva Prasad Panda alias Bhabani (28) from a jungle in Kantia gram panchayat of Jatni area in Khordha district. Bhabani has confessed before the police that he had killed a couple Chakradhar Sahoo alias Kalia (65) and Sukanti Sahoo (48) of Lane 4 in Bharatpur and Shantilata Pati (70) of the same slum on Tuesday afternoon. 

Briefing reporters here Twin City Commissioner of Police Dr RP Sharma said the accused had eloped with deceased Kalia’s granddaughter Sumi in 2009 and subsequently married to her. After the marriage they were staying in Retanga under the Tamando police limits on the outskirts of the city, he added. 

During this period, Dr Sharma said, Bhabani had demanded to transfer the leased land (600 sq ft) owned by Sumi’s grandfather to his name. But Sukanti, Kalia’s second wife (from 2011), strongly protested the accused’s proposal. On this issue Bhabani and Kalia’s family had been indulged in quarreling with each other for several times. In the year 2013, Sumi had committed suicide. In this connection and UD case had been registered in Mangalabag police station, he added. 

The Commissioner of Police (CP) said Bhabani had gone to his granny Shantilata’s house on Monday afternoon, a day before the gruesome murder. He along with his granny had done marketing in the evening and then stayed with her in the house that night. On the very next day, Bhabani had altercation with Sukanti, an immediate neighbour of Shantilata. After few minutes of argument, irate Bhabani attacked Sukanti with the backside of a tangia (axe) on her head. When she fell down on the floor, he closed the door and returned to his granny’s house, he added.

Narrating the incident, the CP said Bhabani had also attacked his granny when she supported Sukanti. Similarly, he had closed the door of his granny’s house and waited for the arrival of Kalia. After an hour, Kalia had returned to his house after marketing his vegetables in the nearby market. According to his plan, Bhabani had attacked Kalia with the same axe and fled from the spot with the axe. 

On the way to Kantia, Dr Sharma said, the accused had thrown away his axe at the roadside and hid somewhere in the jungle of Jatni area. 

After an hour of the incident, one Harekrushna Nayak had reported to the police about the murder incident. The Khandagiri police led by IIC Aseem Panda and ACP PK Swain reached the spot and had started investigating into the matter. Following some vital leads, three teams of the police started a manhunt to nab the culprit and finally arrested the accused with the help of the Jatni police, said the CP. 

Dr Sharma said that property dispute between Bhabani and the deceased couple led to the murder. They haven’t received any evidence of involvement of more people in the murder, he added. 

On accused’s criminal antecedents the CP said the police are verifying it. “The accused was a habitual drunkard and a drug addict,” he added.                      

     

Left parties protest Obama’s India visit

BHUBANESWAR: Leaders and workers of five left parties on Saturday staged demonstration at the Lower PMG here protesting US President Barack Obama’s India visit. 

Workers of left parties like Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) and Forward Bloc came in a procession started from Master Canteen flaunting placards bearing slogans like ‘Obama go back’ and staged a rally in front of the State Assembly opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s love for Obama. 

Later the party workers burnt effigy of Obama after shouting different slogans against the USA. 

CPI (M) State secretary Ali Kishore Patnaik addressing the gathering said the USA has created terrorism in the world and now it is interfering in internal matters of other countries to pose its supremacy. “Modi Government has started dancing to the tunes of Obama by promulgating an Ordinance to allow 49 per cent FDI in insurance sector and other sectors,” Patnaik said.

CPI secretary Dibakar Nayak said the USA has violated human rights by declaring war against Iraq, Syria and Libya and helping Israel to attack on Palestine. “America’s dadagiri cannot be tolerated anymore. We Indians should protest Obama’s visit,” he added. 

Among others, CPI’s Ramakrushna Panda, CPI(ML) Liberation’s Judhistir Mohapatra, SUCI (C)’s Purnachandra Behera and Forward Bloc’s Jyoti Ranjan Mohapatra addressed the public at the rally.            

Centre to help Odisha set up of mega Textile Park

--declares Rs 10-cr assistance for Raghurajpur

--Incubation centre in NIFT Odisha soon

BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister for Textiles Santosh Gangwar while attending a national workshop here on Thursday suggested the Odisha Government to apply for a mega Textile Park in the State to promote handloom and fashion.

Addressing the gathering at the inaugural ceremony of the workshop on ‘Promotion of Handloom and Fashion’ organised at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Gangwar said the Union Ministry of Textiles has changed its guidelines to help some States like Odisha set up the Textile Parks. According to the old guidelines, business houses were applying for the parks, but now the State Governments could apply for such facilities, he said.

If Odisha wants to apply for a Textile Park like other 63 parks across the country, Gangwar said, it has to submit its application before February 5. Besides, the State has to ensure that it has the required suitable land of 10 to 25 acres, he added.

He said the project would cost around Rs 100 crore, but the Ministry of Textiles would give Rs 40-crore assistance for establishment of the park in the State. “As Odisha has around two lakh talented artisans and weavers, the park will help them in building capacity and to showcase their talents before the world.

Gangwar in the presence of Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Textiles Minister of Odisha Snehangini Chhuria declared an assistance of Rs 10 crore for development of the art and craft village Raghurajpur in Puri district in order to improve textile tourism in the State. He said the money would be used for development of infrastructure of the village along with capacity building of artisans and marketing of artworks of the villagers. 

The Union Minister also said that his Ministry has planned to market products of weavers through e-retail giant Flipcart, an e-commerce website, to give more benefit to poor weavers and artisans.   

He said the Central Government would sanction Rs 12 crore for establishment of an incubation centre under the NIFT to help budding entrepreneurs. A three-acre site for the centre has been demarcated behind the NIFT here, official sources said. 

Chief Minister Patnaik thanked the Union Textiles Minister for sanctioning Rs 10 crore for development of Raghurajpur. He praised the NIFT for initiating action to bring handloom weavers and fashion designers together for reinventing handloom with fashion, infusing new ideas for producing a wide range of products as per the liking of the customers.

Among others, Union Secretary of Textiles Ministry Sanjay Panda, Bhubaneswar MP Prasanna Patsani and NIFT officials were present in the inaugural ceremony of the workshop.  

Puri included in heritage city list

BHUBANESWAR: Jagannath Dham Puri has been included in the National Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) and would get special grants for developmental works. 

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu for the inclusion and said its natural for Odia’s to feel honoured as this has been done in the Nabakalebara year of Lords. 

The new scheme seeks to promote an integrated, inclusive and sustainable development of heritage sites, focusing not just on maintenance of monuments but on advancement of the entire ecosystem including its citizens, tourists and local businesses.

Union Minister for Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu and Minister of Tourism and Culture Dr Mahesh Sharma has jointly launched the programme in New Delhi. 

While as per UNESCO resignation there are 32 natural and cultural heritage sites, the Government has included 12 cities in HRIDAY scheme at present. Initially for Puri city Rs.22.54 crore has been allocated.

Tiger population falls in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: It’s a bad news for Odisha that its tiger population decreased from 32 in the year of 2010 to 28 in 2014 at the time when India takes credit for 30 per cent increase in the population of the big cats. 

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar in Delhi said that India has 2,226 tigers in its forest reserves in 2014 against 1,706 tigers in 2010. With this, India has around 70 per cent of the world’s around 3,000 tigers, he added. 

Though the reason of the fall in tiger population is yet to be confirmed by the State Government, environmentalists said that poor management in habitats, especially in Maoist-affected areas might be the reason behind the decline in the tiger population. 

Notably, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had severely criticised the implementation of Project Tiger scheme saying the tiger population in Odisha declined drastically due to inadequate protection measures and deficiency in project management.

The CAG in its report had pointed out that tiger population in Odisha fell from 192 in 2004 to 32 in 2010, and both Similipal Tiger Reserve (TR) and Satkosia TR were ranked as ‘Poor’ in the assessment report of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).