Bhubaneswar: A family in Bhubaneswar was left grieving after a seemingly minor dispute escalated into fatal violence, leading to the death of 32-year-old YouTuber Rahul Maharana.
Rahul, who had got married three months back, was stabbed to death, following a petty argument over loud phone conversation at a local playground in GGP Colony area under Mancheswar police station limits on Saturday night. An Army jawan, Sangram Keshari Behera (37), currently posted with an infantry battalion in Jammu & Kashmir and home on leave, along with his nephews Samarendra Behera (20) and Sangram Behera (24), have been arrested in connection with the incident.
According to sources, the incident took place around 9.30-10 pm when Rahul was hanging out with his friends at the playground near a high school field. Tensions arose when the three men objected to one of his friends speaking loudly on his phone. W
hen the jawan reportedly asked him to lower his voice, a verbal argument quickly turned physical. In the ensuing scuffle, Sangram allegedly stabbed Maharana in a fit of rage with a sharp weapon, inflicting a fatal injury to his chest. The victim was initially rushed to nearby private hospitals and then to Capital Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead on arrival.
Police attributed the killing to “sudden provocation over a trivial issue,” with the accused and victim being complete strangers despite living in Rasulgarh-GGP Colony locality. Liquor bottles and glasses were recovered from the crime scene, suggesting possible alcohol consumption by the trio. These items have been sent for forensic analysis along with fingerprint examination.
Source further stated that while eyewitnesses captured mobile video clips provided crucial leads, CCTV footage helped police track the suspects, who fled on two motorcycles. They were arrested three within three hours of the crime. None of the accused had prior criminal records, and police have seized the knife used in the attack, along with two bikes and three mobile phones.
However, Rahul’s relatives have expressed skepticism about the “petty argument” motive and have called for a thorough investigation to ascertain the sequence of events.