Bhubaneswar: A 34-year-old man was allegedly hacked to death in Pahala area, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, in the early hours of Wednesday.
The deceased, identified as Prabhat Behera of of Anantapur village, worked as manager with a local transporter and was also involved in supplying sand and construction materials.
According to sources, local residents found his body lying near a canal embankment along Nakhara-Sundarpur road, bearing deep, multiple injuries to his neck, head, and face. A scooter, a plastic pipe, and liquor bottles were recovered by the police a short distance from the crime scene.
Behera’s family accused his employer of orchestrating the killing over some financial dispute.
According to the victim’s mother, Pratima Behera, his employer called him around midnight for a meeting regarding ongoing financial and payment disputes. Later, both his and the employer’s phones were found switched off.
After the recovery of the body, tension gripped the area as irate residents and family members staged a three-hour road blockade on the Nakhara-Niali road. Protesters initially refused to allow police to sent the body for a postmortem, demanding immediate arrests and insisting that the suspects be brought directly to the spot, a demand police noted was unreasonable but managed to defuse through persuasion.
A murder case was later registered at Pahal police station limits and the prime suspect, the employer and his brother, were apprehended.
A senior police officer confirmed that both individuals are currently being interrogated to verify the family’s allegations and ascertain the exact sequence of events. Phone records are being analysed to establish a definitive motive, while the body has been sent for an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
