Bhubaneswar: Investigation into the gruesome murder of police informer Sahadev Nayak in Bhubaneswar's Rasulgarh area has unraveled a bitter tale of revenge and rivalry involving several families. Following interrogation of the five arrested accused, Police revealed the chilling conspiracy and the reasons that perhaps led to Sahadev's killing.
The five persons arrested belong to two families — one of Lipika Nayak and the other of Lucky Nayak. The accused thoroughly planned the attack and were in search of an opportunity. For three days, they tracked Sahadev’s movements and murdered him on the Rasulgarh railway overbridge, disguising themselves by wearing helmets so that no one could see their faces.
'Sahadev Snatched Our Livelihood'
On December 4, excise officials arrested Lipika after brown sugar was seized from her possession. She believes Sahadev had intentionally kept brown sugar in her vehicle and tipped off the excise team about the contraband, which eventually landed her in jail. Not only this, Lipika who worked as sweeper was removed by BMC three months ago. As Sahadev was president of the sanitation workers' association, she blamed him for snatching away her livelihood. Since then, both Lipika and her husband harboured grudge against Sahadev. Lipika was released from jail on January 5, just three days before the murder. She had planned to kill Sahadev after coming out of jail, Lipika informed police during the interrogation.
Not only Lipika's family, but another arrested accused, Lucky Nayak and her husband Rakesh Nayak, also had a grudge against Sahadev. Lucky also happened to be a BMC sanitation worker in the past. Over the years, she had managed to win the trust of other sweepers and was leading 30-40 workers, which Sahadev allegedly could not tolerate being the president of the association. Gradually, even Lucky was expelled as a worker. Despite staying in the same locality, Sahadev used his political connections to remove her from the job, which Lucky felt was injustice. Prior to that, Lucky and her father were attacked by some miscreants in a slum near Press Club under Kharavela Nagar police limits. Lucky alleged that Sahadev and his nephew were behind the attack; Police arrested his nephew but did not take any action against Sahadev.
All these events brought together Lipika Nayak and her husband Laxmidhar Nayak, Lucky Nayak and her husband Rakesh Nayak, to hatch a conspiracy to eliminate Sahadev, informed the investigating officer.
Twin City Police Commissioner said that this murder is an outcome of personal rivalry but has a huge social impact because of the risks faced by people assisting law enforcement agencies. Police had launched 'Basti Ku Chala' campaign as an initiative to foster trust between police and slum dwellers by organising community games, dance events and social outreach programmes. The campaign was aimed at curbing crimes by engaging some of the residents as Police Mitras (friends of Police) who used to collect information on local criminal activities and pass it on to the police. Soon, these Mitras found themselves labeled by criminals as 'police informers'. This is how Sahadev, a 'police mitra' who helped authorities monitor crimes in slums, became a target of criminals who saw him as a threat.