In a major breakthrough, Commissionerate Police have cracked a five-year-old double murder case in Cuttack with the arrest of housemaid Basanti Samad and her husband Santosh for the brutal killing of an elderly couple.
The victims, Srinath Samal (72) and his wife Bidyulata Samal (65), were found murdered in their home at Beleswar New Colony, Cuttack, five years ago. The crime went unsolved until now, despite repeated investigations.
The incident came to light when the couple’s daughter, unable to reach them over phone, alerted neighbors. Police discovered their bodies and recovered a blood-stained knife and chopper from the crime scene. However, COVID-19 restrictions that followed soon after significantly delayed investigative efforts.
Though initial efforts failed, the family’s persistence kept the case alive. The breakthrough came after Dr. Dev Dutta Singh assumed charge as the new Commissioner of Police and assigned the case to ACP Manoj Satpathy for a fresh probe.
A specialized team led by Satpathy, comprising experienced officers and an intelligence unit, revisited the case files, re-interviewed witnesses, and analyzed call data records (CDRs). This led to suspicion around Basanti Samad, the couple’s longtime domestic help, whose phone activity showed gaps around the time of the murder.
Further surveillance and intelligence efforts helped the police track and detain her husband Santosh, who later confessed to the crime. According to the confession, the couple’s alleged verbal abuse and mistreatment of the maid and her husband drove them to plan and execute the murder.
The crime was premeditated, with the suspects waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Both Basanti and Santosh were arrested based on:
CDR analysis
Extra-judicial confessions
Witness statements
Reconstruction of the crime scene
They have been produced in court, bringing long-awaited justice to the grieving family
