Berhampur, Jan. 4 :    Berhampur, Jan. 4:  It was with a sigh of relief that Berhampur police announced the re-arrest of Mahesh Padhi, the alleged psychopath who was behind the gruesome murders in the city last year. The police had arrested Padhi, a Girija Square pan shop owner, on August 29 last year suspecting him to be the 'stoneman' who had sparked panic here with a series of murders since May. The stoneman's first victim was Biswanath Nayak, murdered on the night of May 22. He struck again on June 13 and 14 near Ramlingam tank killing P. Sanyasi and Parsuram Patro. On June 22, he crushed to death Y. Rama Rao at Bijipur market. His next victims were Subash Mohanty on July 17 and Sudhansu Joshi on August 15. He was caught while allegedly attempting another murder on August 29. While Padhi denied the charges, all circumstantial evidences were against him. Even eyewitnesses testified against him. A polygraph test at the state forensic laboratory in Bhubaneswar found Padhi's responses deceptive. Padhi, however, claimed he was innocent and refused to accept the results of the lie-detection tests. He was then taken to the Indian Institute of Hypnotism in Hyderabad where five attempts to hypnotise him failed. On their way back, Padhi managed to give the slip to the police team. He escaped when the Falaknama Express slowed down near Palasa in Andhra Pradesh on September 22. An apprehensive Berhampur police kept track of his family and friends. Their perseverance was rewarded when they arrested Padhi again on Sunday, a little over three months after his escape. Berhampur superintendent of police Sudhansu Sadangi said a small electronic machine, worth Rs 350, helped them trace Padhi. The police installed the gadget, which flashes the number of the caller on its screen, on the telephone of a video cassette library near Padhi's pan shop. Padhi was on good terms with the owners of the video library. When he called up the library, the police easily traced him to Chandikhol in Jajpur district. The police team which rushed to Chandikhol found Padhi selling bananas near the PCO from where he had called up. During interrogation yesterday, Padhi confessed that he had visited several places, including Mumbai, Cuttack and Rupsa, after escaping from the train. But he decided to stay in Chandikhol where an old man had helped him to start a small business of coconuts and bananas. He had also decided to marry a girl there for a dowry of Rs 40,000. The four persons who escaped the stoneman's attack identified Padhi today. This will be the only evidence against Padhi as little was gathered from the murder scenes.