Berhampur/Cuttack, March 17: Police today registered a case against former Congress MLA Ramesh Jena in Town police station for extortion from a Chatrapur liquor trader.
Berhampur police superintendent Sarthak Sarangi said they had also named Jena's father Arakhit, his nephew Pradip Swain and arrested of Berhampur Municipal Corporation Congress councillor, R. Murali Mohan, in this case.
"Every month the four accused persons were forcibly collecting Rs 3 lakh from a liquor trader in Chhatrapur. We came to know about the extortion case only after the complainant came forward and lodged a complaint against these four at Town police station," said Sarangi.
Police have also seized four vehicles registered in the name of Swain, who also owns a liquor shop at Gate Bazaar in Berhampur.
The police today forwarded Swain to the court of the sub-divisional judicial magistrate of Berhampur. A sand trader, Krupasindhu Bhoi, was arrested today for having links with Ramesh.
The police also raided the house of Sada Sahu at Haridakhandi for his alleged links with Ramesh. "We have seized Rs 5 lakh cash and 40 sale deeds of plots located in various areas from him. We are interrogating Sada," said Sarangi.
A police team, which went to Visakhapatnam earlier to probe Ramesh's activities there, traced a house of Ramesh there as well. The house was registered in the name of Venkat Patra, an aide of Ramesh. Venkat owns a gutkah factory. "We have seized the gutkah factory and are interrogating Venkat," said Sarangi.
Tito aide held
Police today arrested Prakash Sahu alias Chunga, 27, a key aide of gangster Tito, and recovered a pistol and live ammunition from his possession. A team of Bidanasi police had detained Sahu while he was roaming around the residence of BJD councillor Ranjita Biswal last evening.
Biswal, a member of the Cuttack Nagar Yuvak Sangha, was earlier interrogated twice by police in connection with her alleged links with the Dhal Samant brothers. “Sahu was involved in a bombing case last year and worked for a criminal Golia of Jobra, who is an aide of gangster Tito,” said deputy commissioner Sanjeev Arora.
