A day after five persons were arrested in connection with the murder of an official of a shipping company at Paradip, industrialist and chief of a stevedoring company Mahimananda Mishra today moved Odisha High Court seeking to quash a lookout circular (LOC) issued against him by the police in the case.
In a related development, local Congress leader Arindam Sarkhel alias Bapi was detained by the police at Raghunathpur Police Station near Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district in connection with the gunning down of Mahendra Swain at Paradip on October 26, the police said.
Sarkhel, who had also been issued LOC, was detained for interrogation after he appeared at the police station this afternoon, Jagatsinghpur SP J N Pankaj said.
A labour leader in the port town, Sarkhel termed the move of the police to be a political conspiracy against him at the behest of senior local BJD leader.
Meanwhile, apprehending arrest in in the case, chief of Orissa Stevedores Ltd (OSL) Mahimananda Mishra, whose anticipatory bail application is still pending in the High Court, in a fresh plea to the HC sought to quash the impugned LOC issued against him by the SP of Jagatsinghpur.
Challenging the Circular issued in connection with the murder case registered against him by Paradip Police, Mishra in his plea has termed the same to have been issued without authority of law of jurisdiction and has urged the High Court to declare the Circular as non-est in the eyes of law.
Mishra is booked in the case for allegedly masterminding the murder of Mahendra Swain on October 26 at Paradeep. Swain was a senior manager of another company and apparently had a business rivalry.
Police had yesterday arrested five persons, including three from Jharkhand, in this connection.
Claiming to be innocent in the case, Mishra alleges vindictive attitude on the part of local police in registering the FIR and issuing LOC against him just a day after booking him.
Along with Mishra, three of his associates Basant Bal, Subash Acharya and Debi Prasad Tripathy have also sought advance bail in this connection.
In his petition to the HC, Mishra said no notice has been issued to him either under section 160 or under 41-A of CrPC to appear before the investigating officer (IO).
"Just a day after registration of FIR, on October 28, the police straightway issued the Circular in an arbitrary, mala fide and illegal manner," he said in the plea adding, he came to know about the LOC from the media.
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