Other States - Orissa   

Kidnapped trader killed?

Staff Reporter

Family members yet to identify the body

BHUBANESWAR: Even as Orissa and Jharkhand police in a joint verification reportedly identified the body of the abducted trader belonging to Keonjhar town, family members of the victim are still not sure if he had been killed.

"Two bodies were found near Ranchi. Of these, a body was identified to be of the driver, Naba Kishore Mohanta. However, no family member of the trader, Rasmi Ranjan Mohapatra, reached the spot to identify the second body," Khurda Superintendent of Police Amitabh Thakur said here on Tuesday.

He said manager of the businessman, who was sent to Jharkhand to identify the body, said that it was not that of Mr. Mohapatra's.

It was alleged that the trader was kidnapped from Bhubaneswar in the last week of May. Subsequently, kidnappers had demanded a ransom of Rs. 2 crores.

However, due to consistent persuasions by the victim's family, the ransom amount was reportedly reduced to Rs. 40 lakhs to Rs.

50 lakhs.

While negotiation was on, the Jharkhand police had first traced an abandoned car near Dhanbad Railway station and later two bodies, one of which was mutilated, near Ranchi.

Investigation on

On Monday, deputy Superintendent of Police of Ranchi (Rural) Sanjay Ranjan told over phone that the finger-ring on the right hand of body suggested that it was of the abducted trader. The bullet-riddled bodies were found on May 29.

A three-member team from Bhubaneswar was investigating into the matter in Jharkhand.

Meanwhile, brother of the victim, Pradip Barik, claimed that he received ransom call from kidnappers even on Tuesday.

"The kidnappers were calling from the mobile number of my brother," Mr. Barik said.

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