Maharana emerged as the prime suspect after he was allegedly captured on CCTV fleeing the crime scene. (Express photo)After allegedly killing his 76-year-old employer last week, Balabhadra Maharana kept switching cities, moving through Puri, Kolkata, Raipur, Panipat and Surat to evade arrest. But he made one crucial mistake — he allegedly kept switching on his phone, helping the police track his location.This eventually helped the Odisha Police trace him to a bus in Gujarat’s Vadodara. On Wednesday, the 40-year-old was arrested in connection with the murder of Kunjalata Nanda, in whose house he had been working as a caretaker for the past several months.Maharana emerged as the prime suspect after he was allegedly captured on CCTV fleeing the crime scene. Police said their preliminary investigation indicated that he had fled with jewellery and cash from the deceased’s house.The police claimed to have seized Rs 20,600 in cash, two mobile phones, one gold locket, one gold ring, a pair of earrings, a small diary and other documents.“The accused was deliberately evading arrest and was frequently changing his location and moving from one state to another. As per information available so far, the accused had visited Puri, Kolkata, Raipur, Panipat, Surat and other cities during this period,” said Police Commissioner S Dev Dutta Singh.According to the police, after tracking him to Gujarat, a team first reached Ahmedabad and, on receiving further input, moved to Surat. “With the assistance of Gujarat Police, the team finally intercepted the accused in Vadodara district while he was travelling by bus towards Delhi, and apprehended him,” Singh said.“He was not staying even for a day in any of the locations. We are ascertaining the reason behind his frequent changing of location. So far, it seems he is the only accused in the case, but we are ascertaining if others are involved in the crime,” Singh said.Story continues below this adPolice said the accused allegedly attempted to strangle Nanda and assaulted her on the head when she resisted the attack, before fleeing on a scooter with jewellery and other valuables. A resident of Tangi in Khurda district, Maharana had been engaged by Bidyadyadhara Maharana, a house help who has been working for the deceased’s elder son for more than seven years.The victim, wife of a retired forest officer, was staying alone in the two-storey house in the city, while her son lives in the United States and her married daughter resides elsewhere in the city.Police said that although portable cameras were installed in different rooms of Nanda’s house, they were allegedly disconnected by the accused before the crime.Sujit Bisoyi is a Special Correspondent with the Indian Express and covers Odisha. His interests are... Read More