Puri: A chilling murder plot driven by superstition, financial fraud, and revenge came to light in Odisha’s Puri district after police on Monday cracked the case of a burnt body found inside a home at Mandarabasta village under Kanas police limits, with the arrest of three persons.
The accused have been identified as Raj Kishore Sahoo and Suresh Sahoo from Tapang under Khordha police limits, and Satyabrata Mallick, a 19-year-old B Tech student hailing from Kendrapada.
The deceased, 61-year-old occult practitioner Parshuram Pradhan, was bound, stabbed, and burned alive on the night of August 11. His charred remains were discovered two days later when his wife, Kanaklata Sethi, returned from Bhubaneswar.
The fatal conspiracy stemmed from Parshuram’s unfulfilled promises of sorcery and hidden riches. Raj Kishore, the prime accused and an eatery owner, approached the ‘tantrik’ to conduct rituals to end his younger brother’s relationship with a girl, which the family opposed, and paid ₹19,000 for the task. When that failed, Parshuram exploited his client’s vulnerability further by claiming a pot containing a 1.7 kg antique gold idol and other hidden treasures lay buried underground on Raj Kishore’s land. Under the pretext of performing esoteric rituals to unearth the gold and reveal its exact location, Parshuram extracted an additional ₹2 lakh, which was transferred digitally, Puri SP Prateek Singh told the media.
When the promised gold failed to materialise, Raj Kishore demanded a full refund of his money. As the tantrik repeatedly refused to return his money, he conspired with Suresh and Satyabrata to kill him. “Raj Kishore brought a knife, chili powder, and ropes. A fierce argument erupted between them as Parshuram refused to return his money, following which Raj Kishore stabbed and gagged him to silence his cries, then he and the others tied him up and set him ablaze,” the SP said.
Police unravelled the plot by analysing digital banking transactions and call records, which connected Raj Kishore with the victim. “The motive was rooted in deception and greed. The accused felt cheated both emotionally and financially, and resorted to brutal violence. A mix of superstition and fraud culminated in this killing,” he added.
