BHAWANIPATNA: Biswanathpur police on Monday arrested two men for allegedly killing a 60-year-old man on suspicion of practising witchcraft in Kandama village under Kalahandi’s Lanjigarh block.
The accused are Naresh Dora (30) and Sunai Harijan (30), both residents of Kandama. The deceased was identified as Raghu Patra. Two others, Pradeep Harijan and Bhola Dora, have been detained for questioning over their suspected involvement in the murder.
Sources said Raghu went missing on July 30. After his family members lodged a missing person complaint, police launched an investigation on Monday with the help of dog squad and forensic team. A sniffer dog led them to Naresh and Sunai who reportedly confessed to have murdered Raghu during interrogation.
Police said Naresh suspected that Raghu was practising witchcraft and was responsible for the death of his father a month ago. Since then, he was tracking the elderly man’s movements. On July 30, the accused and their accomplices intercepted Raghu in a deserted area, assaulted him with a lathi and killed him. They later dumped his body on the tracks near Dahikhal railway station in neighbouring Rayagada district to mislead the police.
Basing on the confession of the two accused, police searched for Raghu’s body near Dahikhal station but could not trace it. Subsequently, the Government Railway Police (GRP) confirmed that they had recovered an unidentified body from the tracks near Ambadola on August 1. It was later identified to be that of Raghu.
Biswanathpur IIC Tulsiram Sabar confirmed that the elderly man was murdered and his body placed on railway tracks to destroy evidence. The two accused were produced in court on Tuesday. Police are questioning Pradeep and Bhola, and further investigation is underway.