Surat, Nov 11 (PTI) Gujarat Police have arrested a 40-year-old man accused of murdering the wife of a retired Divisional Forest Officer during a robbery in Bhubaneswar, an official said here on Wednesday.
Balbhadra Ramcharan Maharana was absconding following the murder of Kunjalata Nanda (76) at her residence in the Laxmisagar Police Station area of Bhubaneswar, Odisha, he said.
Police had received information that he was in Surat, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) B P Rojiya.
“The Surat Crime Branch and Vadodara Rural Special Operations Group launched a joint operation on Tuesday and apprehended Maharana near Krishna Hotel in Karjan,” he said.
The accused used different mobile numbers and frequently changed his location to evade arrest, but was finally nabbed before he could flee to Delhi as per his plans, the official said.
Kunjalata Nanda was found dead at her residence with injuries to the neck on November 3, DCP Rojiya said.
Odisha Police zeroed in on Maharana, who had been working as a caretaker at Nanda’s residence for the past four months and had disappeared after the incident, as the prime suspect.
Maharana allegedly strangled Nanda with the intention of committing robbery and fled with Rs 32,000 in cash and 50 to 60 grams of gold jewelry.
He first fled to Ludhiana in Punjab before travelling to Surat.
Police recovered some of the stolen property. Maharana would be handed over to Laxmisagar Police in Bhubaneswar after completing legal formalities, the official said. PTI KVM KRK
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