KalingaTimes Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, April 14: More than 15 hours after marathon boy Budhia Singh's former coach Biranchi Das was shot dead in the city, Orissa police had not been able to make any headway in the case.

Several raids conducted by the police in the city as well as neighbouring Cuttack had not led to the arrest of gangster Raja Acharya and one of his associates who were allegedly involved in the cold blooded murder of Das on Sunday evening.

While search was on for the killers, the police were investigating into the case from two angles to know about the motive behind the killing of the Judo coach, sources said on Monday.

It is being suspected that Raja Acharya could have killed Das due to two possible reasons – Das could have been protecting an Oriya model Leslie Tripathy whom he was stalking during the past few months, and secondly the coach's reported role in exposing some illegal trading in scraps in one the industrial areas in the city. Das had reportedly informed the police about the illegal scarp trade.

While Leslie lived in Bhubaneswar , the scrap dealer belonged to Cuttack . Acharya is said to be operating in both the cities for several years.

Although Acharya lived in Bhubaneswar , the police had conducted raids in Cuttack as a youth who accompanied the gangster to the Orissa Judo Association complex hailed from the city.

Acharya's name figured in the murder after deceased coach's brother told media persons on Sunday evening that it was Acharya who fired at Das.

The gangster and his associate had reportedly come to meet Das at the Judo Association in a motorcycle and vanished from the spot soon after the firing.

Whatever the motive and whoever the killers, the killing of the coach has come as a shock for the city's residents. How soon the police solve the case remains to be seen.