Bhubaneswar, Aug. 28: The August 22 murder case near Satya Nagar crematorium has been cracked with the arrest of the prime accused in the case from Niali in Cuttack last night.

Police also arrested two others for providing shelter to Kabu Behera, the main accused person in the murder case. From him, a handbag belonging to the victim and a knife used in the crime were also seized. Behera hails from Sithal village in Niali of Cuttack. In Bhubaneswar, he was staying at Bhagabati slum in Unit-IX.

The police identified the two others arrested for giving Behera shelter as Dhushasan Das and Panchanan Das from Palasi village in Niali. Behera’s arrest followed a raid on their houses. “For the last five days, we had been conducting raids at several places. But, Behera escaped every time. Last night our team, including the special squad personnel and Kharavela Nagar police station staff, raided another hideout of Behera in the slum and arrested him from there,” said a police officer.

Commissioner of police B.K. Sharma said the motive behind the murder was robbery. “On spotting the victim, Niranjan Nahak, with a bag and a suitcase, Behera asked him for money. They had a scuffle following which Behera stabbed him with a knife killing him on the spot. The entire incident took place within a few minutes,” he said.

Nahak’s body was found on a footpath on Janpath near Satya Nagar crematorium on August 22. The deceased was identified with the help of a piece of paper found in a bag seized from the spot. Nahak hailed from Purusottampur in Ganjam district. His family had been staying in Anuppur district in Madhya Pradesh. The police said that he used to visit Bhubaneswar and Cuttack frequently.

Sharma said the accused, Behera, was a petty criminal who had been arrested by Kharavela Nagar police in 2006 in a motorcycle theft case. While Behera was booked under sections 302 (murder) and 397 (robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code, the other two were charged under Section 214 (offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender) of the IPC.

“They were produced in the court in the evening,” said the commissioner. The police also said that they had seized a handbag from Behera, which contained several identity proofs of the deceased person. “That made us sure about his involvement in the crime,” Sharma added.