ROURKELA: A 26-year-old tea vendor was stabbed to death by three persons on Friday night in a street near the Rourkela railway station.
The deceased was identified as Avinash Yadav, a resident of Gopabandhupali slum in the city. Yadav ran a tea stall at the parking lot near Amar Bhawan and was returning to his stall from a public toilet at around 9.20 pm, when he was attacked near Amar Bhawan under Plant Site police limits.
The three assailants allegedly accosted him in the narrow lane outside the toilet and stabbed him multiple times, killing him on the spot.
Sources close to the victim said the murder may have been a fallout of a clash between Yadav and the killers, who are still on the run, during the Ganesh Puja immersion procession in Gopabandhupali around six months ago.
Although the area, which is near Rourkela railway station, was crowded, the crime went unnoticed for some time due to the deafening noise of a marriage procession heading towards Amar Bhawan.
Plant Site police rushed to the scene and began an investigation. Police also analysed CCTV footage to ascertain the sequence of events and identify the attackers.
Plant Site police station IIC Bibhatsa Pradhan said the victim was stabbed three to four times with sharp weapons. A case has been registered and the body has been sent for postmortem.\
“A search is on to trace the culprits. Police have gathered vital clues and are close to cracking the case. The exact motive will be clear after the accused are arrested,” he added.
DIG (western range) Brijesh Kumar Rai said the victim and the attackers belonged to the same age group and were residents of Gopabandhupali slum. He confirmed that the suspects have been identified and are currently absconding. Efforts are on to arrest them soon, he added.