Bhubaneswar: Three persons were arrested after a 32-year-old local YouTuber was fatally stabbed following a confrontation near GGP Colony under Mancheswar police limits in Odisha capital on Saturday night.
The victim has been identified as Rahul Ranjan Moharana, who ran a YouTube channel and supplemented his income by supplying gas cylinders. Those arrested are Samerendra Behera alias Muna (20), Sangram Behera alias Kuna (24) and Sangram Kesari Behera alias Satura (37), all belonging to GGP Colony.
According to sources, the attack took place around 11.15 pm when Rahul arrived with his friends – Sachin Nayak and Siba Champatiray – near High School Field in GGP Colony and allegedly opposed public drinking by the trio, who were already present in the field and consuming alcohol. This led to an altercation, which suddenly escalated, and the accused chased and attacked him with sharp weapons, inflicting fatal injuries. He was rushed to a nearby private hospital and later shifted to Capital Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
The accused are nabbed within three hours of the murder. Police tracked them down through the registration number of their motorcycles. The weapon of offence, a knife, two motorcycles and three mobile phones were seized from them.
Emphasising the swift response that led to the arrests, Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena said that investigation is underway to establish the precise trigger for the crime. “Prima facie, it appears the murder stemmed from sudden provocation over a trivial issue,” he told TOI.
Some reports stated that Rahul had an earlier dispute with a group of youths about two months ago. The dispute escalated to the point where both parties were summoned to the police station and the matter was resolved through mutual discussion. Despite the settlement, underlying tensions between the groups reportedly persisted. On Saturday morning, Rahul once again became involved in a heated argument with members of the same group. It is being suspected that this led to a planned attack at night. The miscreants allegedly struck him on the chest.
Of the three accused, one is a jawan of the 120 Battalion and the other two are his nephews, the reports added.
Meanwhile, the family of the deceased donated his eyes before taking him to Swargadwar in Puri for the cremation.
