Murders Mock Safety In Odisha Capital

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has become unsafe with the state recording the second-highest crime rate in the country, according to latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

The scenario is equally dismal in the state capital with Bhubaneswar witnessing 32 murders in the past 11 months. These include three murders in the last one week.

Some of the more sensational murders that shook Bhubaneswar this year are:

Drug Rivalry Shooting

A youth, Papu Jena, was gunned down by three bike-borne miscreants at Sarkantara near Khandagiri on November 7. The youth’s father was injured in the firing.

According to reports, the shooting was fallout of a rivalry over brown sugar business in the city.

Diwali Night Fracas

One Amaresh Nayak was hacked to death following a dispute over bursting of crackers near Sundarpada in Airfield Police station area on Diwali night (October 27).

On the fateful night, a group of people arrived at the spot where Amaresh and his friends were bursting crackers and arranging a feast and opposed it. This led to a heated argument. Soon after, the group attacked Amaresh with sharp weapons, leaving him critically injured.

He succumbed on way to Capital Hospital.

More than 20 persons were allegedly involved in the murder. The Commissionerate Police has arrested six of them so far.

Man Murders Brother

One Mamun Routray allegedly hacked his brother, Pritam Routray, to death with a sword after chasing the victim on a road at Atalagada in Balianta police station area on June 8.

In a CCTV footage, the accused was seen walking on the road after dumping Pritam’s body in an under-construction septic tank near an apartment building.

Police arrested the accused after the CCTV footage went viral on social media.

Monetary Dispute

A man killed his co-worker in a flour mill at Rental Colony following a monetary dispute on June 2.

The deceased was identified as Dilip Sahoo (41) of Nayagarh district. Police later arrested the accused, Chintu Jena, from Niali area in Cuttack district.

Woman Kills Roommate

A woman murdered her roommate by slitting her throat at Gouri Nagar on January 20.

The deceased was identified as Alakananda Das and the accused as Anisha Mitra.

Police said the two women were living in a rented house for the past eight years. After killing Alakananda, Anisha surrendered to police.

She, however, did not reveal the motive behind the murder. Police suspect she was dissatisfied over Alakananda’s forthcoming marriage.

Besides, murder cases were reported from several places in Bhubaneswar including Balianta, Salia Sahi and Pada Sahi near Nandankanan in the last 11 months.

Rising Crime

Earlier in January, the Commissionerate Police reported that the crime rate in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack had increased by almost five per cent in 2018 as compared to the triennial average (TA) of crimes reported in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Releasing the statistics of major crimes in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the then Police Commissioner, Satyajit Mohanty, said the Odisha capital witnessed 26.6 per cent rise in rape cases while it was 31.3 per cent in Cuttack. The perpetrators in most cases were either lovers with whom a girl had eloped or someone close to the survivor’s family, he said.

Similarly, there was an increase in murder (7.5%), dacoity (25%), robbery (5.8%) and road accidents (8.9%), Mohanty said, attributing these to rising population, urbanisation and employment crisis.