Rivalry, Revenge And More: What Led To Police Informer's Gruesome Murder In Bhubaneswar

Sahadev Nayak, a 'police mitra' who helped authorities monitor crimes in slums, eventually became a target of criminals who saw him as a threat.

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.

'My Husband Was Killed For Helping Police'

Meanwhile, Sahadev’s wife expressed fear for life and her child’s safety, alleging that some perpetrators are still at large. “Brown sugar smuggling is done on a large scale in our area. One who opposed this was murdered. My husband lost his life for helping the police. Today they killed him, tomorrow it could be me or my child. What did my husband get by becoming Police Mitra? He sought police protection but did not get any support in return,” she said, seeking justice.

Last week on January 8, Sahadev, a social worker and police informer from Kedarpalli slum under the Capital Police station area, was brutally murdered on the busy NH-16 near Rasulgarh area, just when the city was gearing up for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations. Police have so far arrested five persons, including key conspirators, and are on the manhunt to nab other suspects. Police also shared that two miscellaneous cases had been registered against Sahadev at Capital PS.

Crackdown On Brown Sugar Trade

In 2023, the Commissionerate Police had registered 63 cases and arrested 126 smugglers in connection with brown sugar seizure. Around 1.022 kg brown sugar and Rs 1.72 lakh in cash were recovered during the period, informed Commissionerate Police.

Similarly, between January 1 and December 31, 2024, 48 cases were registered with arrest of 95 persons for links with brown sugar trade. A total of 702gms contraband and Rs 7.02 lakh in cash were seized by police in 2024.

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