In a grim reminder that the Capital City is no longer safe for its senior citizens, a 68-year-old retired banker was found brutally murdered in his Kalinga Nagar home on Monday evening.
Balaram Sahu, a former AGM with a nationalised bank, was found dead with his hands and legs tied. He is believed to have been strangulated on Saturday.
The murderers had wrapped the body in a bed-sheet. The retired bank employee was living alone in his K-8/35 home in Kalinga Nagar under Khandagiri Police limits.
The murder came to light after neighbours got suspicious and informed the police as there was no activity in Sahu’s house for the last two days. The Khandagiri police scaled the fence, entered the house and found the body.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Sahu may have been strangulated with an electric extension cord.
Though police are tightlipped about the reason behind the murder, early investigation points at land dispute. Sahu had apparently bought a piece of land in Ghatikia, which was eyed by unscrupulous elements. He had been attacked by unidentified persons on January 22 and had lodged a complaint with the police, but in vain. Police Commissioner Sunil Roy and Bhubaneswar DCP Nitinjit Singh rushed to the spot.
Sahu, a veterinary surgeon by qualification, was the lone occupant in the two-storey building. Police said he did not even employ a domestic help and the whole house was in a mess. His family had been staying away from him for a while. His wife is currently with one of their daughters in Delhi.
While burglary or dacoity as the reason for the murder could not be ruled out, police are also trying to gather information about his land deals. He had last talked to his sister-in-law on Saturday, after which he was murdered. The killers clearly knew he was staying alone. He was tied with plastic ropes and strangulated.
The murder of the 68-year-old banker is not the only incident of senior citizens coming under attack. In September, a couple had been attacked in Acharya Vihar. While the wife died on the spot, the husband died a few months later.