Jeypore: Police in Odisha’s Jeypore arrested three persons and detained two juveniles within 24 hours of the stabbing death of a 19-year-old college student, aided by a viral CCTV footage that captured the sequence of events.
Debasish Kishan Kuldeep, a second-year degree student at Borigumma College and a resident of Kebidi village under the Jeypore Sadar police limits, was waylaid and fatally assaulted near the KTM showroom at Airport Square in Jeypore town on Friday.
Police have attributed the incident to a possible long standing personal enmity between Kuldeep and one of the juveniles involved. Earlier that day, Kuldeep had visited the college of the minor, where a heated argument escalated into a physical altercation. The juvenile then contacted his elder brother, who called in other associates. The group arrived armed with a knife and an iron rod, intercepted Kuldeep as he was in the area, restrained him, and stabbed him multiple times before fleeing. Severely injured, Kuldeep was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital in Jeypore, where doctors declared him dead due to his wounds and heavy blood loss.
Following a complaint from the victim’s family, Jeypore Town Police registered a case and formed a special team. The crime scene was secured and a scientific team was deployed to collect blood samples and other evidence, whle arrangements were made for postmortem before handing the body over to the family. Analysis of CCTV footage from the vicinity proved crucial in identifying the attackers and tracing their movements after the assault.
Acting on information, police conducted a raid in the Parabeda area early Saturday and apprehended Jaga Harijan, 20. During questioning, he disclosed the roles of the others and the location of the weapons. A blood-stained knife and iron rod were recovered, along with two motorcycles allegedly used in the crime and mobile phones belonging to the suspects.
The three accused — Jaga Harijan (20), Dinesh Takiri (20), and Chandra Kanta Harijan (18), all students of Vikram Dev University and residents of the Jeypore area — were arrested and produced before the SDJM court. The two juveniles, one of whom is also a college student and the brother of one accused while the other had recently appeared for Class X examinations, were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.
Police noted that some of those involved have prior criminal records, and further investigation is underway to determine if more associates were connected to the murder.
