BERHAMPUR: Murders of a father-son duo followed by another killing within a span of 20 hours have rocked Rayagada district.
The father-son duo was allegedly murdered in Sariguda village of Likitipadar panchayat under Padmapur police limits on Friday night. The deceased were identified as 45-year-old Agadhu Gamang and his 65-year-old father Sumbura Gamang, the husband and father-in-law of local sarpanch Jenit Gamang.
According to sources, on Friday morning, Agadhu publicly reprimanded his cousin Suman Gamang, accusing him of sexually assaulting a relative which led to cancellation of her marriage. Though Suman felt humiliated, he left. Later in the night, a group of men barged into Agadhu’s house and attacked him with sharp weapons. They also dragged Sumbura from the house and attacked him. Leaving the father and son in a pool of blood, the group tried to attack Jenit, but she escaped to another room and locked herself. She raised alarm for help which forced the attackers to flee away.
IIC Padmapur Dharanidhar Pradhan reached the spot with his team. In her complaint, Jenit named five persons of the village in connection with the murders. Police seized the axe, knife and lathi used in the crime. Two persons were detained during investigation. The IIC said that the autopsy report is awaited to ascertain the cause of death.
In a separate incident, another murder was reported in Sourabkriampur village under Padampur police limits on Saturday.
A 50-year-old Chaitanya Sabar was killed around 4 pm by his neighbour Panda Sabar. Chaitanya was on way for his evening bath when the accused attacked him with an axe in public.
The villagers were left stunned by the sudden attack as the killer fled the scene. The family members of the deceased lodged a complaint with police. An investigation is underway.