Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Feb. 9: Police today said gangster brothers Sushant and Sushil Dhal Samant had killed Dipu Mallick and Om Prakash Swain, both close associates of the criminal siblings.

The police are now grilling Sushant and his younger brother Sushil to find out where they had disposed of the bodies.

The duo were arrested for a string of criminal cases against them on January 28.

"Investigation so far has revealed that Dipu and Om were killed in Odisha and their bodies were disposed of outside the state. We are probing further and it will take another two days to find out where the bodies were disposed of," said police commissioner Y.B. Khurania.

However, the cops are yet to ascertain if the brothers killed Dipu and Om themselves or engaged someone else to carry out the murders.

Sources said Dipu joined the gang of the Dhal Samant brothers through Bhajana, another close associate of the duo, in 2006 and soon gained the confidence of the brothers.

"He was engaged as a sharpshooter for the brothers and soon become the most trusted man who played an active role in the tender-fixing racket run by the siblings," said a police official.

However, the relationship of Dipu soured with the Dhal Samant brothers in 2011 after he tried to supersede them. Sources said Dipu used to get a paltry sum for committing crimes, while Dhal Samanta brothers got the lion's share. This had infuriated Dipu.

The gangsters put Dipu on their hit list when they came to know that he was planning to bump them off and take control of their empire. Sources said the brothers took the help of Bhajana to keep a tab on the movement of Dipu.

Dipu went missing in November 2013. His father Adwaita Mallick had alleged that the gangster brothers, along with their close associates, had killed his son.

"When I approached the police, they only made a station diary in January 2014, but did not register a case," said Adwaita.

Chauliaganj police finally registered a murder case following a court direction on January 18. Bhajana was arrested by Chauliaganj police in September for allegedly threatening the family of Dipu.

Police are also trying to find out whether the bodies of Dipu and Om were disposed of in Visakhapatnam where Sushant was staying.

The police, during its search operation at Sushant's rented accommodation in Visakhapatnam, had found photographs of Dipu. The cops have also decided to conduct a polygraph test of the Dhal Samant brothers to verify evidences gathered in connection with the murder of Dipu.

Investigating officials said the challenge before the police would be to locate the bodies of Dipu and Om and if possible, to find out the weapon used in the murder.

Dipu's father Adwaita had alleged that his son was taken away from his house on November 12, 2013, by Sushil and Sushant, along with some a few other associates.

"He told us they were taking Dipu with them on some work at Athagarh. But he never returned. Sushil was driving a black luxury car while his brother Sushant sat in the back seat," Adwaita had said.

Sources said that Dipu had 12 criminal cases against him. "He was wanted by the police in six murder cases," said a police official.

The police have sent the firearms seized from Dhal Samant brothers to the state forensic laboratory for further tests.

Amrut funds

The state government today sanctioned Rs 143.34 crore for 41 projects to be undertaken in nine cities under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut). The state accorded its approval to the projects at a meeting chaired by chief secretary A.P. Padhi.

Raahgiri timings

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has decided to fix the duration of Raahgiri to four hours. From now, the Raahgiri Day will be observed on Janpath on Sundays from 6am to 10am.