Jharsuguda: Rengali police arrested a murder accused who had been absconding for nearly 28 years after he allegedly returned to his native village to sell a plot of land, police said on Friday. The accused has been identified as Nilamani Mahanand (53) of Bundupali village under Rengali police station limits. He had escaped from police custody.Police said Mahanand, along with two others, was arrested in 1998 for the alleged murder of Duryodhan Deep (31), also of Bundupali. The other accused remained in custody.During the period, he allegedly assumed a false identity, changed his name to Raju Ganda and lived in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh. Police said he had been residing there under the assumed identity for the past three years.SP (Jharsuguda) GR Raghavendra said the accused’s whereabouts came to light after he reportedly returned to Bundupali about a month ago to sell land. As his presence was required at the tehsil office for the transaction, Rengali Police acted on intelligence inputs and verification to trace and arrest him near Mahapali village in Chhattisgarh.
Nilamani Mahanand after his arrest
