Four cops suspended in Dara case

CUTTACK, Aug 31 (UNI) — The Orissa Government has suspended four policemen even as combing operation to nab Dara Singh continued on the fifth day today along the Mayurbhanj-Keonjhar border.

Dara Singh is the prime accused in the brutal killings of Graham Staines, his two minor sons in January and a trader of a minority community recently.

The police personnel suspended for negligence of duty in connection with Thursday’s killing of Sheikh Rehman at Padiabeda village ‘Haat’ in Mayurbhanj district are the officer-in-charge of Thakurmunda police station, a special branch sub-inspector and two constables.

Official sources said the police had arrested two persons allegedly involved in the Padiabeda incident.

The accused, identified as Tipu Das and Khageswar Dalei, were yesterday produced before the court of the Subdivisional Judicial Magistrate at Karanjia, who remanded them to judicial custody.

Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang held a high level meeting at Bhubaneswar last night to take stock of the situation in the area which was stated to be tense because of the state police’s ‘failure’ to arrest the fugitive in the past seven months.

The meeting, attended among others by Home Secretary Ajit Tripathy and Director General of Police Dilip Kumar Mohapatra, also discussed precautionary measures in view of tomorrow’s Orissa bandh call given by the ruling Congress and other non-BJP parties in protest against ‘deteriorating’ law and order situation in the state.