CUTTACK: Police have arrested four persons for their alleged involvement in a murder conspiracy over past business rivalry.
The accused were identified as Chandan Bhol of Jagatsinghpur, and Rakesh Kumar Behera, Sisir Jena and Rajesh Nayak, all belonging to Bhubaneswar. While Rakesh was arrested on April 7, the other three were nabbed on Tuesday.
Briefing mediapersons, ACP Ananya Awasthi said on April 5, some miscreants attacked a 65-year-old man with sharp weapons near his residence in CDA Sector-6 area here, and fled after committing the crime. The victim sustained grievous injuries on his head and arms.
On getting information of the matter, police launched an investigation. During probe, the cops found that the incident was not just a random act of violence but rather a well-planned murder conspiracy.
Further investigation revealed prime accused Chandal Bhol, engaged in book business in Badambadi area, had a long-standing rivalry with another bookseller of CDA locality. Accordingly, he hired contract killers Sisir, Rajesh, Rakesh and some others to eliminate his business rival, police said.
“The assailants had been stalking the target for the past many days before committing the offence. However, on the day of the incident, they mistakenly attacked the elderly man, assuming he was their intended target. Had the victim not retaliated, the assailants would have killed him,” said the ACP.
Subsequently, through technical evidence and field investigation, police identified and arrested the four accused. A car, a motorcycle, a sword, `11,000 cash and five mobile phones were seized from the possession of the accused. “A manhunt has been launched to nab the absconding accused,” the ACP said.