Puri: In a ghastly incident, a youth was allegedly hacked to death over plucking of green coconuts at a village in Odisha’s Puri district.
Sources said the gruesome murder took place at Mashanichandi Sahi area under the jurisdiction of Baselisahi Police Station of the district late on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as Narasingha Behera.
As per police, the murder was allegedly committed by a minor and his accomplices over a dispute over green coconut plucking from the Masani Chandi temple premises.
They said the minor accused had earlier entered into an argument with Behera after he was caught stealing coconuts. The police have detained the main accused, a minor, and an investigation is underway.
Behera, who was the secretary of the Masanichandi management committee, had recently caught a thief red-handed while stealing coconut from the temple premises. The accused had reportedly quarreled with Behera and his family members the previous day. The accused, armed with sharp wespons, allegedly entered Behera’s house in the night by jumping over the boundary wall. They killed him using sharp weapon and fled, a senior police official said.
Several people are suspected to be involved in the crime, and a case has been registered based on the victim’s family complaint, police said.
