Ex-bureaucrat held, Odisha CID to probe photojournalist's murder

A case involving the kidnapping and murder of a photojournalist from Odisha has been handed over to the crime branch of CID for investigation, the Indian Express reported. Manas Swain, 28, was allegedly kidnapped by his employer Sarmistha Rout and four others in February and assaulted over a memory chip allegedly containing visuals linked to Rout.

Swain, who used to work for Sampurna, a news portal and magazine, was kidnapped on February 7 when he was in Bhadrak for a wedding assignment. He succumbed to his injuries on February 8.

On Wednesday, the Odisha DGP handed the investigation over to the CID after former Odisha information service officer Niranjan Sethi was arrested in connection with the case. Police also seized Rout’s car from Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.

Police have arrested five people so far. On Tuesday, police arrested and questioned Rout’s brother as he was suspected of helping her escape after the killing. The Indian Express quoted DIG crime branch Sanjeeb Panda as saying, “One team will look for Sharmishta Rout, owner of the web channel where Swain worked, while another will look into other aspects of the case. It is suspected that Rout has fled to some other state.”

Police suspected Rout’s role after three of the accused claimed that they had killed Swain at her behest.