BHAWANIPATNA: The headless body of a murdered 65-year-old man was recovered from Baijhali Sagar lake in Deypur village within Kalampur police limits in Kalahandi district on Wednesday.
Police identified the deceased as Rupsingh Majhi of Deypur. He was reportedly killed by one Lingaraj Majhi (21) on May 18 over sorcery suspicion. Police said Rupsingh’s body was recovered from the lake during crime scene recreation with the help of accused Lingaraj.
On May 20, Rupsingh’s brother Durjan Majhi had lodged a complaint with police stating that his sibling was missing since two days. Subsequently, locals found blood stains near Deypur panchayat office and suspected that Rupsingh was murdered.
Acting on the complaint, police launched an investigation and found that several people from Deypur village had gone outside the state after Rupsingh went missing on May 18. After tracking mobile phones of several villagers, police on Tuesday arrested Lingaraj from Goa where he worked as a daily wager,
Kalampur IIC Nilambar Jani said during interrogation, Lingaraj revealed that he killed Rupsingh on May 18 by decapitating him as he believed the elderly man was practising witchcraft. After committing the crime, the accused dragged his body and threw it in Baijhali Sagar.
“We recovered the deceased’s headless body with the help of ODRAF and fire services personnel. Efforts are on to trace the deceased’s severed head and further investigation is underway,” the IIC added.