CUTTACK: A week after a man was allegedly assaulted and pushed to death in front of a moving vehicle in an incident of road rage, his wife on Wednesday threatened to self-immolate alleging police inaction in arresting the accused.
The deceased is 28-year-old Kanhu Rout of Dwarabatipur in Ghantikhal gram panchayat. His wife, Minati staged protest in front of the Khuntuni police station on the day threatening to set herself afire over police inaction in arresting her husband’s murderers.
The incident had taken place on the night of July 8. Speaking to mediapersons, Minati said Kanhu had sustained grievous injuries after a group of locals beat him mercilessly and threw him in front of a speeding pick-up van after he accidentally hit a couple riding a motorcycle in front of him. “Kanhu succumbed while undergoing treatment at the Athagarh sub-divisional hospital the next day. Though so many days have passed, police are not arresting the accused,” she alleged.
She further threatened that if the prime accused, who she alleged had instigated the angry mob to push her husband in front of the vehicle, is not arrested soon, she would set herself on fire in front of the Khuntuni police station.
Later in the evening, Choudwar SDPO Umakant Nayak informed the media that two persons have already been arrested in this connection. They are Krushna Chandra Sethi (48) and Batakrishna Swain (26) of Mahakalabasta. Refusing to divulge details on the prime accused, police said further investigation was underway to nab the others.