Bihar truck driver's body found in Sambalpur forest, 3 arrested

Sambalpur: Police on Sunday arrested three men for the brutal murder of a 31-year-old truck driver from Bihar, whose decomposed body was discovered in Lodapada forest under Jamankira police station limits here. The murder, committed on March 5, came to light on April 10 after wild animals, sensing the smell, dug up the buried body, which was later spotted by villagers.

The accused have been identified as Ganesh Jaiswal (48), a resident of Bareipali; Muna Allam (26), a Bihar native currently residing in Sambalpur; and Sangram Naik (43), a brick kiln owner from Kuagola.

According to police, the deceased, Jahindra Yadav, had been acquainted with Munna Allam for the past six months. Jahindra was transporting pig iron worth around Rs 15 lakh from Raipur to Kolkata on March 5. Munna allegedly conspired with Ganesh to murder Jahindra and sell the iron to Sangram, with plans to scrap Yadav's truck after disposing of it for Rs 50,000.

The accused spiked Yadav's tea at around 10pm on March 5. After he lost consciousness, the accused tied him up and drove the truck to Sangram's brick kiln. There, Yadav was reportedly strangled, run over with a truck, and buried in the nearby forest. After Yadav went missing, Sanjiv Pandey of Bihar lodged a missing complaint at Khirbhojana police station in Bihar's Jamui district. GPS tracking installed in the truck helped trace its last movements. The murder was confirmed when villagers discovered human remains—bones and torn clothing—in the forest near the brick kiln.

Sambalpur SP Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo described the crime as brutal and premeditated. "One of the accused is still absconding. We have seized the truck and the consignment of pig iron," he said, adding that the accused will be taken on remand for further interrogation.