BHUBANESWAR: A 34-year-old man was allegedly murdered on the outskirts of the capital within Pahala police station limits late on Tuesday night. The deceased identified as Prabhat Behera was a native of Cuttack's Anantapur.
The locals found Prabhat dead at a field in Phulnakhara in the morning and informed the police about the matter. Pahala police arrived at the scene and noticed injuries on his face and head. His body was shifted to a hospital for postmortem.
Prabhat's father Bishnu Charan Behera lodged a complaint in this regard in Pahala police station. He alleged Prabhat's former employer Debasis Patra (30), native of Nagari in Cuttack Sadar, was behind his murder.
Pritish Patra (29), the younger brother of Debasis, had reportedly visited Prabhat's house and asked him to accompany him to have a causal conversation. However, Prabhat did not return home in the night.
"Prima facie it appears to be a case of murder. The two accused brothers have been detained but the motive behind the crime is yet to be ascertained. A case of murder has been registered and further probe is underway," said a police officer.
Sources said some liquor bottles were found at the crime scene. Police suspect Debasis and his few associates were already present when Pritish arrived with Prabhat on the spot. They possibly consumed alcohol together and attacked Prabhat after having an argument with him, they added.
Police said Debasis works in the transportation and construction business and owns a couple of Hyva trucks and JCB machines. Prabhat earlier worked as a manager for Debasis for about three to four years.
However, he later quit his job and Debasis was upset over the matter. "Prabhat and Debasis had an argument over the same matter about 15 days back, but they had resolved their issues. Police are probing whether Debasis and his associates killed Prabhat for refusing to work for him again," said sources.
On the day, the locals staged a road blockade on Phulnakhara-Nialia Road and demanded to arrested all the accused involved in the crime. The demonstration disrupted the traffic on the stretch for about two hours.