3 of family hacked to death on Puri road

The miscreants chased and attacked them with sharp weapons barely a few metres from a police outpost.
For representational purposes (Express Illustration)
For representational purposes (Express Illustration)

BHUBANESWAR/PURI: Two warring families’ fight took a heavy toll as three members of a family were hacked to death by their rivals at a busy market place in Puri district on Sunday evening. Police sources said the assailants, armed with swords and daggers, came to a roadside stall near Patnaikia under Satyabadi police limits where brothers Purnachandra Behera alias Punia (40) and Krushna Behera (35) and their relative Panchua  Behera (45) of Sadanandapur village were having food.

On seing their rivals, the trio tried to escape. But the miscreants chased and attacked them with sharp weapons barely a few metres from a police outpost. After committing the crime, the  attackers fled.

Following the incident, the enraged locals vandalised the food stall and nearby shops. A large number of devotees, who had turned up for Adhara Pana ritual of Lord Jagannath in Puri, were stranded on both sides of Patnaikia Square due to the protest by the locals, which lasted for about two hours. However, Puri SP Uma Shankar Dash and other police officers rushed to the spot and dispersed the locals.

“The two groups are having a long standing rivalry over a civil dispute. On September 11 last year, the victim trio had killed the sarpanch of Sadanandapur village, Ajay Kumar Behera, and thrown his body on railway tracks,” a police officer said.

“Ajay was a relative of the accused and after he was murdered, frequent incidents of violence erupted between the two groups. Initial investigation suggests the accused killed the trio to avenge Ajay’s death,” he added.

While the kin of the deceased have named 14 persons, who were involved in the crime, the police have launched a search operation to nab the accused.

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The New Indian Express
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