Bhubaneswar, Jan. 5: A 40-year-old man was today arrested in connection with the killing of Sumit Ranjan Behera, a 20-year-old caretaker of a de-addiction centre, on December 29.

The accused, Ashok Verma, was arrested from Rourkela. Earlier, Saroj Das, 32, a homoeopath from Balasore, and Jyoti Ranjan Sahu, 24, from Cuttack were held in connection with the murder.

Police said that Verma was admitted to the de-addiction centre for the past 12 months. "He told us that a number of inmates of the rehab centre had made up their mind to get out of it to celebrate the New Year. However, Behera turned down their request," said a police official.

As many as 36 inmates, who wanted to escape from the centre, had asked Behera to hand over the keys of the main gate. But, when Behera refused, they allegedly killed him and fled.

Inspector in charge of Mancheswar police station Himanshu Bhusan Swain said that the investigation so far had revealed the involvement of 10 accused in the incident. "We are trying to nab Partha Sarathi Nayak who is suspected to be the crime mastermind. Besides, efforts are on to nab other accused in the case," said Swain.

Being a caretaker, Behera used to keep the inmates engaged by playing carrom, ludo and other games.

The police said that he never allowed the inmates to leave the centre. This is why they had a grudge against him. Behera worked with the de-addiction centre for two years.

Sex racket busted

Saheed Nagar police today busted a sex racket operating out of a slum near Satsang Vihar and rescued 11 girls. Three customers were also arrested. The cops said the girls, most of them in their 20s, belong to various parts of Odisha and Bengal. The police swung into action after getting complaints from local residents as the sex racket was operating beside the national highway passing through the area. The girls were sent to a short-stay home after a medical examination.