MALKANGIRI: Unidentified miscreants reportedly hacked a web news channel journalist to death near Murliguda within Motu police limits in Malkangiri district on Saturday evening.
The deceased was identified as Ch Naresh Kumar, a native of Motu. The cold-blooded murder took place at around 6 pm.
Sources said Naresh was talking to fellow journalists near Murliguda when five unidentified miscreants arrived on the spot on two motorcycles. Without any provocation, they assaulted him with a sword before fleeing.
Naresh suffered grievous injury in the attack and was rushed to Motu primary health centre in a critical condition. As his condition deteriorated due to profuse bleeding, he was shifted to Malkangiri district headquarters hospital. However, he was declared dead on arrival. On being informed, Motu police reached the spot and sent the deceased’s body for postmortem.
Naresh’s wife Phulan Devi Biswas said at around 3.30 pm, two local youths came to their house and called her husband to some place on pretext of urgent work. Later in the evening, she was informed that Naresh was brutally attacked.
Additional SP Rashmi Ranjan Senapati said cyber experts and forensic team from Koraput visited the crime site for investigation on Sunday. He along with Malkangiri SP Vinodh Patil also visited the murder spot and Motu police station.
“Efforts are underway to ascertain the motive behind the murder. Police have detained four persons in connection with the incident and are questioning them. All the miscreants involved in the crime will be identified and arrested soon,” Senapati added.
Meanwhile on Sunday, scribes from across Malkangiri staged dharna in front of the district police office demanding immediate action against the culprits involved in Naresh’s murder. A delegation of Malkangiri Union of Journalists also met SP Patil and handed over a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to him.
In the memorandum, the journalists urged the CM to constitute a high-level committee to probe the incident. They also demanded adequate compensation to the bereaved family.