4 more arrests in 19-year-old’s murder in Rayagada

Koraput: In a major breakthrough in the sensational murder case of 19-year-old Nikhil Hadapa of Rayagada district, police on Tuesday arrested four more accused persons in an inter-state operation, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 16.

The latest accused arrested include Debasis Bibhor alias Chintu, Paban Kalapa and Sagar Kalapa, who were apprehended from Hubli in Karnataka after police teams tracked them through Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka. Another accused, Ajay Kumar Devarpalli, was arrested from Palnadu district in Andhra Pradesh.

According to police, Nikhil Hadapa of Relli Street in Rayagada town was allegedly abducted on the evening of May 9 by prime accused Umesh Hial and his associates. His mother, Balama Hadapa, lodged a complaint at Rayagada police station after learning that her son had been forcibly taken away in a vehicle.

The next morning, Nikhil’s body bearing gunshot injuries was recovered from the banks of Nagavali river near Tumbiguda village. Investigation revealed that the accused allegedly kidnapped the youth, chased him and opened fire using a pistol, leading to his death on the spot. The body was later dumped near the river bank using two vehicles, police said.

Police said the murder was allegedly planned over previous enmity linked to a gambling-related dispute in Almonda area of Koraput district involving theft of cash and gold worth lakhs of rupees.

DIG (south-western range) Kanwar Vishal Singh praised the efforts of the investigating teams and said the operation reflected the commitment of Odisha Police in cracking organised crimes. “The Rayagada police have carried out a highly coordinated inter-state operation and achieved significant success in the case. Multiple teams worked continuously across different states to trace and apprehend the accused. Investigation is progressing in the right direction and further action will follow based on evidence,” Singh said.

SP (Rayagada) Swathy S Kumar supervised the investigation, while additional SP Ramendra Prasad led the technical intelligence wing and additional SP Manoj Pujari headed human intelligence operations. Police said more arrests are likely in the coming days.