BYJD stages cycle rally protesting hike in petrol price

BHUBANESWAR: Supporters and workers of Biju Yuva Janata Dal (BYJD) and Biju Chatra Janata Dal (BCJD) staged a cycle rally here on Sunday protesting hike in petrol price.

Supporters and workers of the party led by BCJD Bhubaneswar district president Ranapratap Patra came in a cycle rally started from BJD State party office to Sishu Bhavan square in the city demanding complete rollback of the decision.    

As a seventh hike in three months, the party members said, petrol prices on Friday went up by Rs 1.63 per litre excluding VAT. “The Central Government has failed to control the petrol prices,” they added.

Three killed in jumbo attack in Dhenkanal

DHENKANAL: Three people were allegedly killed in elephant attack in three different places under Hindol block in Dhenkanal district on Sunday, while forest department official sources confirmed the death of a man in the block.

Due to jumbo attack, Ghanashyam Parida of Durlabhpur village and Daitary Lohar of Karanda village died on the spot. An old man from Madhua Nuasahi of the same block died after drowning in his village pond following an elephant attacked from his back side.

A herd of pachyderms has been creating havoc in different villages of Hindol block by entering to human habitats, said a local resident, adding, “The wild animals are destroying their paddy crops along with fruit bearing trees apart from attacking people.”

Bachansudha Murder: Security guard held, confesses murder for robbery

--It’s pre-meditated crime, says DCP

BHUBANESWAR: Finally after three days of manhunt, the special squad of the Commissionerate Police arrested security guard Dipti Ranjan Pattanayak who was the prime suspect of the broad daylight murder of 53-year-old business woman Bachansudha Pattanayak at Sabar Sahi of Rasulgarh area in the city. The security guard has confessed before the police on Saturday that he killed Bachansudha while committing robbery in the house.

The accused was arrested from the city on Friday night. The Manchswar police interrogated him and he was taken to the crime spot on Saturday morning. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime, said Bhubaneswar DCP Nitinjit Singh. 

“We have seized some belongings from the accused. He is only the person involved in the case. He had robbed foreign currency along with Indian currency Rs 5,000 from deceased’s vanity bag after committing the crime, but no diamond necklace has been recovered from the accused,” said the DCP, adding, “He had thrown the foreign currency fearing police arrest when he was absconding.”

Singh brought the accused to the spot to know how the crime took place on the day. The accused, after entering the deceased’s house, described the police about how he proceeded from security post to kitchen and how he assaulted the business woman on the fateful day.

“It was a pre-meditated crime with an intention of robbery which took 20-30 minutes,” said Singh, adding, “When he came on duty on Wednesday, he had come fully prepared to commit the crime.”

According to the sources, on the day of the incident, Dipti came to the duty at 10am instead of coming at 6am. Bachansudha got irritated on him for coming in late and informed to the head of the Rajendra Security Services who had sent him on duty.

After the incident, Dipti became angry and came outside. At 12.30 pm, he returned to the residence in a drunken stage and went to the upper floor by climbing left side of the building. He entered to the kitchen room where Bachansudha was cooking. He rushed to the room and attacked from the back side of the old woman. When she turned back, the security guard choked her mouth with the help of his right hand.

The business woman then bit his right thumb and protested. During a scuffle, the security guard stabbed her in a household knife. He stabbed repeatedly at her neck, shoulders and then front side of her face. When Bachansudha was howling for help, Dipti scratched her head against wall. While she was on pool of blood in the house, he left the house with a vanity bag.

After taking the money from the vanity bag, he threw that bag away, which had a mobile, in a drain near the residence. At the same time he changed his dress and threw away his blood stained inner and T-shirt in the drain. He came out of the house wearing his uniform, but when he saw a PCR van he again returned to the building and washed his blood to avoid any suspicion from the outside public.

He after few minutes left the residence and went Khurda by hiring an auto-rickshaw. He rushed to a hospital for treatment of his right thumb. He registered his name in a pseudo name to avoid police eye.

Later he went to his aunt’s house at Nimapada and then Nayagarh to avoid police arrest. Again the accused returned to Bhubaneswar where he was caught.

Meanwhile, the police have ruled out the connection of the gill whom the accused had telephoned after the crime. The police may take stringent action against the unlicenced security agencies in the city after the incident, said the police sources.  

13 Maoists killed in encounter in M’giri

--DGP appeals Maoists to return to mainstream

MALKANGIRI/BHUBANESWAR: Upsetting the growing left wing extremism in neighbouring Odisha and Chhattisgarh border area, a joint team of special operation group (SOG) and district voluntary force (DVF) killed at least 13 Maoists, including a woman, in a fierce encounter in a forest in Malkangiri district on Saturday.

The Silakuta forest in Padia area of the district where the Maoists camped is close to Maoist-hit Chhattisgarh and the ultras are suspected to have been involved in the May 25 attack by Maoists on a convoy of Congress leaders at Darabha in that State, sources said.

DG of police Prakash Mishra while leaving for Malkangiri to review the situation said here that they had specific information about the infiltration of Maoists from Chhattisgarh area to Padia area of Malkangiri district. “Acting on the particular information, we immediately launched a combing operation in the border area on Friday night with the help of SOG and DVF in the forest,” said Mishra, adding, “During a fierce exchange of fire between Maoists and the joint forces, 13 Maoists were gunned down on the spot.”

Mishra suspected that the members who were killed in the encounter belonged to two groups- Local Operations Squad and Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee of Chhattisgarh. He also revealed that a few of the people who were killed in the operation were the part of the attack by the Maoists on a convoy of Congress leaders at Darabha.

“We have been trying to insulate the area from outside Maoists for a longtime and it is certainly a step which would send right messages to the Maoists of outside State not to enter in our region,” said Mishra.

Claiming the operation as a major success in the drive against left wing extremists in the region, DIG of police Devdutt Singh said a massive search operation has been launched in the forest after the encounter. “Further details will be available after the ongoing search operation in the area is complete,” he added.

Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Akhileswar Singh, who led the operation, said some explosive materials, arms and ammunition and Maoist literature were seized from the site. “The successful operation will give positive motivation to our jawans,” Singh said.  

Bodies of the Maoists were brought to the district headquarters of police on Saturday. More than 20 guns including AK47 rifles and explosives including clamour mines were seized from the Maoists, said the police. 

Meanwhile, DG of police, ADG (Intelligence) Abhay, Director of Intelligence DS Kutte and IG operations Soumendra Priyadarshi visited Malkangiri to take stock of the situation and discussed with the SP about the future steps of the operations. The DG of police praised the SP for a successful operation.

Mishra after holding discussion with the SP, appealed the tribal people of the district through media that they should surrender for their better future. “My dear tribal brother and sisters of Balimela and Padia areas of Malkangiri district should come to the mainstream by leaving Maoist camps because they could not get any benefit other than losing their lives,” said the DGP.    

Notably, a high-level meeting was held at the district headquarters of the Malkangiri district on September 6 to strengthen anti-Maoist operation in the affected districts of the State.

In the meeting, six important officials including security advisor to the Union Home Ministry on Maoists issues K Vijay Kumar, ant-Maoist operation director Deepak Kheria, Chattishgarh CRPF IG, Bastar CRPF IG and Malkangiri BSF DIG discussed with the Malkangiri SP Akhilesh Kumar here about the security and intelligence systems.

Vijay Kumar had told that operation against the outlawed Maoists, who have posed a serious challenge to the internal security of the country, would be further intensified by the State police and paramilitary forces soon.

US Consul General Michael Mullins assumes post in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: On September 7, Michael Mullins assumed the position of U.S. Consul General in Hyderabad.  Immediately prior to his present assignment, Mullins served as the Minister Counselor for Management Affairs at the US Embassy in New Delhi.

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor, Mr. Mullins began his Foreign Service in 1989 in El Salvador, followed by postings in Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.

Mullins is from New Hampshire.  He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in French Literature and Fine Arts from Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he was also inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.  He received his Master of Arts in French Literature from Brown University in Rhode Island, later serving as Brown’s Associate Director of Admission.  Twice awarded scholarships from the Government of France, Mr. Mullins also studied at L’Ecole Nationale de Beaux-Arts and L’Universite de Paris. 

Over the course of his Foreign Service career, Mullins has received six Superior Honor Awards.  He enjoys studio art, reading, music and golf.  He is fluent in French and has conversational abilities in several other languages.