KENDRAPARA:A 62-year-old man, who was mercilessly beaten during a dispute over drawing water from a village tubewell in the district, succumbed while undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on Monday. The deceased has been identified as Pitambar Barik of Baro village under Nikirei police limits.
On April 15, when Pitambar had gone to fetch water from the tubewell, two groups of women started to quarrel after two women interrupted the queue. “When he tried to pacify them, husband of a woman, Rajendra Mohanty, assaulted him,” said a villager Pravakar Barik.
Pitambar was rushed to a local hospital with severe injuries and shifted to SCBMCH, Cuttack on the same day.
A case has been registered under Section 302 of IPC against Rajendra on the basis of the complaint lodged by Pitambar’s wife, said IIC of Nikirei police station PK Nayak. The accused has been absconding and investigation is on, he said. Security has been tightened in the village and its nearby areas to prevent any untoward incident, the IIC added.
It is to be noted that Baro village, having a population of 2,000, is facing severe drinking water crisis this summer as only one of the two tube-wells, dug up five years back, is functioning. “Though we have appealed to the authorities several times to repair the other tube-well, which has been lying defunct for past two years, no action has been taken,” said a villager Ramesh Sahoo.