BERHAMPUR: A 59-year-old man was brutally hacked to death by unidentified miscreants in Nuapada village under Chikiti block of Ganjam district on Sunday.
The deceased was identified as Narayana Pradhan, a farmer of Nuapada. The gruesome murder came to light after Pradhan’s body with multiple cut injuries and severed left palm was found floating in Bahuda river near the village.
Sources said in the wee hours, Narayana left home for his vegetable farm on the banks of Bahuda river on the village outskirts. He was supposed to return home within an hour. However, when he did not turn up till 10 am, his family members launched a search suspecting foul play.
In the meantime, some villagers who had gone to the river to take bath spotted the farmer’s body floating in the water and raised an alarm. On being informed, K Nuagaon police along with the local fire services personnel reached the scene. The body was retrieved and sent to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur for autopsy.
Later in the day, Chikiti sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Biswamitra Harpal visited the spot for investigation. A scientific team and sniffer dog were also roped in to collect evidence. IIC of K Nuagaon police station Kisore Kumar Samal said the deceased’s son Siba Pradhan filed a complaint on basis of which a murder case has been registered. Efforts are underway to trace the deceased’s severed palm.
Though the motive behind the cold-blooded murder is yet to be established, police suspect that Pradhan was murdered due to past enmity. However, villagers of Nuapada and the deceased’s family members said the farmer did not have any previous enmity.
SDPO Harpal said police are waiting for the autopsy report as it may shed some light on the gruesome murder. Efforts are on to identify and nab the culprits involved in the murder. Further investigation is underway.