Body in bed-box: 2 held in Odisha for hotel murder
Times of India | 30 October 2025The accused, Shaktikant Bera and Santosh Bera, were arrested from Banki, close to Cuttack in Odisha.
Over the past few years, the accused had been residing in Sambalpur, police said. "The accused were arrested following source networking and technical inputs. We are bringing the accused to Kolkata on transit remand. The exact motive behind the murder is still being investigated. We have received single-day transit remand of the accused, who will be produced at a local court in Kolkata on Thursday," said additional CP (II), Pranav Kumar.
Sources said the accused claimed they met Lal, a petty criminal who had shifted his residence from Collin Lane to Picnic Garden two years back, near Victoria Memorial a few days ago. Lal was arrested a number of times before.
On the day of the murder, Lal met the accused at the hotel room. The trio was drinking before an altercation broke out over some issue, sources said.
Lal reportedly threatened the accused, who later overpowered the former and allegedly killed him.
" The claim made by the accused has to be cross-checked. We are trying to ascertain if there was a financial dispute. We will also recreate the crime after questioning the accused. There are some gaps in their version of events that need to be plugged," claimed a senior police officer, who is a part of the probe.
The police have dismissed claims that the murder involved sale of some antique items.
On Oct 24, the body was recovered after a guest and his family, who had checked into the same room a day earlier, complained of a foul smell. The preliminary autopsy report revealed that Lal was strangled to death. According to the police, the accused fled with a bedsheet after the murder.
"We are questioning the accused to ascertain where they disposed of this bedsheet," said an investigating officer. The cops are also investigating if anyone helped the accused flee to Odisha after the murder.
