Berhampur: A youth activist of ruling BJD was allegedly hacked to death by unidentified miscreants at Bariguda village under Dharakote police limits in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Friday.
The deceased has been identified as Anil Mohanty (42), an active worker of BJD for the last 20 years. Initially, he was working for BJD’s Sorada unit and later shifted base to Dharakote.
According to sources, locals spotted Anil in a pool of blood at a secluded spot in the locality and informed his family members. Along with his scooter, sharp weapons were found lying near him. Soon after the news his murder spread, former MLA of Dharakote Nandini Devi, block chairperson Sulakshana Gitanjali Devi, Zilla Parishad chief Anjali Swain and Sorada legislator Purna Chandra Swain of BJD rushed to the spot.
Though the reason behind the attack is yet to be ascertained, it is being suspected to be the fallout of political dispute that had emerged in the area during the last panchayat polls, the sources added.
This is second brutal murder of a BJD activist in Ganjam district in the last 24 hours. Sunil Nahak (38) of Baragaon village in Aska was attacked by a group of youths, who battered his head with a stone, while he was attending a post-Ganesh Puja feast at Danapur village within Kodala police limits on Thursday night.
Kodala police have arrested two persons identified as Jitu Pradhan (20) and Deepak Khatua (29) of Danapur village while Dharakote police have arrested one Sanjay Palei (32) of Boriguda village in connection with the alleged murders.
Assistant SP Ajay Mishra said police patrolling has been intensified in both Kodala and Dharakote.
