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, a resident of Pandra who ran a YouTube channel and supplemented his income by supplying gas cylinders.
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 three miscreants, who were already present in the field and consuming alcohol. This led to an altercation, which suddenly escalated, and the miscreants chased and attacked 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.
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.