Berhampur, Nov 21: The investigation into the murder of Berhamapur-based lawyer Pitabas Panda has intensified, with police taking four more accused on a two-day remand. The accused—Uma Bishoyi, Chintu Pradhan, Kurupati Bhuyan and Jogendra Rout—were produced before the local SDJM court, which approved the police’s remand plea for further interrogation.

Sources said another individual, previously summoned twice for questioning and released, was again called in by police, questioned and let off.

According to officials, the four accused were interrogated separately and later confronted with each other at Baidyanathpur Police Station. Investigators pursued remand in order to deepen the probe into the conspiracy and roles of each accused.

Meanwhile, the Test Identification (TI) parade report in the murder case, received on Thursday, has revealed that only two of the eight accused were identified by witnesses. The identified individuals were alleged shooters Kurupati Bhuyan and Chintu Pradhan.

The TI parade was conducted in two phases inside Berhampur jail under the supervision of JMFC (LR & LT-V) Deepika Badamali, with five witnesses participating. In the first phase, witnesses examined five accused—Shishupal Kumar Pashtan, Simanchal Nayak, Kundan Kumar, Bipin Spine and Uma Shankar Bishoyi—but failed to identify any of them.

In the second phase, held last Monday, the accused Kurupati Bhuyan, Vishnu Pradhan and Jogendra Raut alias Yogi were presented. Witnesses successfully identified Kurupati Bhuyan and Chintu Pradhan, while Yogi Raut remained unrecognized.

The TI parade report has been formally submitted before the SDJM court as the investigation progresses.