BALASORE: A roadside dhaba owner was reportedly hacked to death by unidentified miscreants inside his eatery near Jamujhadi chowk here on Sunday night.
The deceased was identified as Gajendra Panda (63) of Chachinda village under Simulia police limits in Balasore. Gajendra’s blood-soaked body was recovered on Monday morning.
Police sources said Gajendra was running an eatery along NH-16 near Jamujhadi chowk for the last several years. On Sunday night, the dhaba staff left for their respective homes after closing the eatery. Gajendra decided to stay and slept inside the hotel after having dinner.
On Monday morning, the cook reached the dhaba and found Gajendra sleeping. He prepared tea and went to serve it to him. To his shock, he found Gajendra’s blanket soaked in blood. On removing the blanket, the cook found the dhaba owner dead with his throat slit and multiple injuries on the head.
On being informed, Simulia police and Gajendra’s family members rushed to the hotel. A scientific team from Balasore town also reached the crime scene for investigation. Police seized the body for postmortem.
Police said unidentified miscreants first killed Gajendra by striking his head with a sharp weapon. They then slit his throat, covered him with a blanket and fled the spot.
The deceased’s brother Surendra Prasad Panda said Gajendra had no known business rivalry or previous enmity with anyone. “We cannot understand what would anyone gain by murdering Gajendra. The incident has left us both shocked and confused,” he said.
Police said based on Surendra’s complaint, a murder case has been registered under section 103 (1) of BNS. IIC of Simulia police station Debraj Jena said, “We are investing the case from different angles. We hope to identify the killers and nab them soon,” he added.