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3 min readBhubaneswarFeb 7, 2026 02:12 PM IST
Following his arrest, police claimed they had to take an “arduous path” to nab the accused. (Express Photo)
What began as a sensational burglary at a senior Congress leader’s home in Bhubaneswar, followed by an 18-day manhunt and the arrest of a so-called “notorious burglar”, collapsed in court 11 months later, with the judge flagging serious procedural anomalies in the investigation.
The JFMC court in Bhubaneswar has acquitted Karri Satti Babu, also referred to as ‘Spider Satti’ by police for his wall-climbing skills, who was the lone accused in the sensational burglary at the IRC Village residence of former Odisha Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik on the midnight of January 26 last year.
In its order pronounced on January 30, the court pointed out a number of ‘procedural anomalies’ in the police investigation. The court observed contradictions between the statements of witnesses and the non-recording of the accused’s confessional statement.
Based on a complaint by Devjyoti Patnaik, son of the former PCC chief, Nayapalli Police in Bhubaneswar on January 25 last year registered a case stating that jewellery valued at Rs 50 lakh and cash amounting to Rs 2.5 lakh were stolen from the second-floor bedroom of the complainant when he and his wife were away.
The sensational burglary in the posh city locality also triggered a political slugfest, with the opposition questioning the law-and-order situation, and became a challenge for police to crack. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had also intervened and directed stringent action against the accused.
As there were no “readymade clues” and identification of the burglar proved challenging, police said they sent multiple teams to Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to track down the accused.
Following his arrest, police claimed they had to take an “arduous path” to nab the accused. The probe team analysed over 400 CCTVs, verified over 10,000 mobile phones across multiple states and examined over 50 suspected persons to zero in on the accused. Reddy was arrested on February 13 from his residence at Golapata under Bimilipatnam police station in Andhra Pradesh. Police also claimed that the accused had multiple cases against him in various states and was also in a Kerala jail from July to September, 2025, before vanishing after his release.
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The probe team also claimed recovery of most of the stolen items and mentioned his involvement in a similar case from the residence of the owner of a known construction company in the same locality in October 2023.
“The present case suffers from a number of procedural anomalies and the chain of circumstances is not established which would warrant a conviction of the accused,” noted JMFC-III, Bhubaneswar, Karonika Ghose, in the verdict.
Stating that there was no eye witness in the case, the court observed that even the informant did not actually see the accused committing the theft. “Rest of the witnesses examined by prosecution was not present at the spot at the time of incident. The factum of seizure is also not proved by the Prosecution,” the court stated.
It went on to say: “There is no evidence on record as regards the accused persons having committed an offence under section 303 (2)/ 3(5) of BNS [theft] and subsequently, the allegations of offence u/s 313 (4)/305 (a) of BNS [punishment for belonging to gang of robbers/pertaining to theft] is not proved against the accused,” the court said, acquitting him.
Sujit Bisoyi is a Special Correspondent with the Indian Express and covers Odisha. His interests are in politics, policy and people’s stories. He tweets at @bisoyisujit87 ... Read More
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