Berhampur, Jul 21: Police have filed a 552-page chargesheet in the sensational kidnapping and murder case of plot trader Sudhir Patra before the JMFC (Rural) Court, detailing evidence against 13 accused and listing 68 witnesses.

According to the chargesheet, the accused have been booked under various sections related to kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, murder, destruction of evidence, and other offences.

Among those named are Sudhir Patra's nephew Tushar Patra, his niece Nibedita Patra, her alleged boyfriend Kalucharan Pradhan, along with Narayan Pradhan, Ashish Mahapatra, Surya Pratap Singh alias Golu, Mukesh Sahu, Sumit Singh, Ranjan Mallik, Saroj Panda, Jiten Palai, Shubham Gouda, and Shubham Nayak.

The chargesheet alleges that Sudhir Patra was kidnapped and a ransom of ₹2 crore was demanded for his release. Investigating Officer Subhranshu Sekhar Parida submitted the chargesheet before the court and said further investigation into the case is continuing.

According to the investigation, Sudhir Patra was abducted on April 15 while returning home on his motorcycle after playing volleyball at Bhabinipur. The kidnapping allegedly took place under the Gopalpur police station limits, where the accused reportedly held him at gunpoint and demanded ₹2 crore from his family.

Police allege that after the ransom demand was not met, Sudhir Patra was murdered.

The investigation led to the arrest of nine accused on April 23, who were later produced before the court. Subsequently, four more accused were arrested from Rajasthan and brought to Odisha on transit remand.

During the investigation, two accused-Ranjan Mallik and Saroj Panda-were injured in separate police encounters after they allegedly attempted to escape in the Sadar police station area. The remaining two accused, Mukesh Sahu and Sumit Singh, were arrested on June 26 and later remanded to judicial custody.

With the filing of the chargesheet, the case is expected to move into the trial stage, while police continue further investigation into the high-profile murder case.