ROURKELA: A 27-year-old man killed his childhood friend by allegedly pushing him off an under-construction overhead water tank after suspecting him of having a relationship with his former partner, police said on Thursday. The crime occurred near Trinath Temple at Lathikata block office chowk, around 16 km from Rourkela.
Police identified the deceased as Abhishek Mahalik (27) of Lathikata’s Trinath Colony. He was found dead on the ground beneath the tank on Tuesday. The accused is Kamal Das, also a resident of Trinath Colony.
Lathikata IIC Rameshwar Singh said Kamal was arrested on Thursday. Police said, Kamal, a contract worker at Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), had been in a relationship with a 23-year-old woman who also worked with him for around two years. The relationship continued until about two months ago, when the woman shifted to Chennai and started distancing herself from Kamal.
Police said the woman taunted Kamal by telling him that she frequently spoke to Abhishek. Earlier, Kamal used to take Abhishek along on several occasions when he went to meet her. Kamal began suspecting Abhishek and the woman had developed a relationship, the IIC said.
On Tuesday evening, during Nuakhai celebrations, Kamal met Abhishek at the water tank site, police said. The two allegedly went there to drink and climbed around 40 feet to the top of the incomplete structure.
Kamal reportedly picked a quarrel with Abhishek over his suspicions in an inebriated state. Police said he checked Abhishek’s mobile phone for call records and chats with the woman. Though Kamal did not find anything suspicious on the phone, he suspected that Abhishek had deleted the call and chat histories, following which he pushed Abhishek from atop the tank. Abhishek died on the spot, police said. Police registered a case following a complaint by Abhishek’s father.