Bhubaneswar Senior Citizen Murder: Absconding Caretaker Arrested Near Vadodara

Bhubaneswar: The caretaker accused of murdering 76-year-old Kunjalata Nanda in Bhubaneswar’s Buddhanagar area has been arrested in Gujarat following a joint operation by the Surat Crime Branch and Vadodara Special Squad.

The accused, identified as Balabhadra Ramcharan Maharana (40), was reportedly nabbed near a hotel on National Highway-48 while allegedly attempting to flee to Delhi by bus. Police have also seized the victim’s gold jewellery from his possession.

Commissionerate Police is bringing the accused to Odisha on transit remand for further investigation.

Kunjalata, wife of late retired DFO Hadibandhu Nanda, was murdered on the night of November 3. Her blood-soaked body was found in her bedroom the following morning, with cash and gold ornaments missing from the house.

Maharana had been working as her caretaker for the past four to five months. He allegedly switched off his mobile phone and fled after the crime, prompting police to launch a search across multiple states.

Acting on inputs from Bhubaneswar Police, Gujarat Police tracked and arrested him in a coordinated operation.