ROURKELA: A private security guard was reportedly hacked to death at Sargigarh village under Koida block in Sundargarh district on Monday night.
The deceased was identified as 45-year-old Sanatan Munda of Sargigarh. The accused, Jairam Munda of the same village, was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly murdering Sanatan.
According to police, Sanatan was deployed to guard trucks engaged in a private mine near the village. Jairam was a worker of the mine. IIC of Koida police station Rajendra Swain said Sanatan along with another person was guarding a truck. Around 8 pm on Monday, Jairam reportedly arrived at the spot with an axe and picked up a fierce quarrel with Sanatan. When Jairam turned aggressive, the other person escaped from the spot.
Sanatan too fled in fear but was reportedly chased by the accused. Eventually, Jairam caught hold of the security guard in a nearby field and allegedly hacked him to death with an axe. Jairam was nursing a grudge against Sanatan as the latter had accused him of stealing battery from a truck, said the IIC.
Sanatan’s blood-soaked body was recovered from a field on Tuesday morning. On being informed, police reached the spot and seized the body for autopsy. Subsequently, Jairam was arrested from the village.
Swain said during questioning, the accused claimed that Sanatan had gone to his house to attack his wife and son with an axe. However, he reached the spot in time, snatched the axe from Sanatan and killed him after a chase.
The IIC said the statement of the accused is being verified. Police registered a murder case and produced Jairam in court. After postmortem, the deceased’s body was handed over to his family members. Further investigation is underway, he added.