Bhubaneswar: Last year’s high-profile burglary at former Congress president Niranjan Patnaik’s upscale Nayapalli bungalow in Bhubaneswar is back in news, following the acquittal of the case’s lone accused recently. Kari Satti Babu alias Satheesh Reddy (40), infamously nicknamed ‘Spider Satheesh’ for his ability to scale buildings, was cleared of all charges on Jan 30.The court, in its order made available on Friday, cited a flawed investigation by the commissionerate police and pointed to several inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case. A family member of Patnaik had alleged that on Jan 26, 2025, an unidentified miscreant fled with jewellery worth about Rs 50 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh in cash. The incident triggered outrage over policing in Bhubaneswar, prompting chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi to personally speak with Patnaik and instruct police to conduct a flawless probe.
Reddy was arrested on Feb 13, 2025, with police claiming his involvement in the crime. Delivering the verdict, judicial magistrate first class (III) Karonika Ghose observed: “The present case suffers from a number of procedural anomalies. The chain of circumstances is not established which would warrant a conviction of the accused. As there is no sufficient evidence on record against the accused, he is found not guilty.” Defence lawyer Subhransu Sekhar Udgata said the prosecution had pressed for conviction based on the seizure of ornaments and cash allegedly stolen. “However, the defence could counter this as there were no independent witnesses. Even the raid that led to the seizure was unreliable and doubtful. The submission of CCTV footage was faulty, and the circumstances of the arrest itself were questionable,” he told TOI. The order further noted lapses, including absence of independent witnesses during seizures, contradictions in prosecution testimonies, non-submission of scientific team reports, failure to record the accused’s confessional statement, and lack of documentary evidence of his previous convictions. A senior police officer said: “We will review the order and take appropriate action in consultation with our lawyer.” Patnaik was unavailable for comment.
