BALANGIR: “Not guilty, no shame” was how the unrepentant lovelorn youth Bikram Panda described his actions. Bikram had held three members of a family hostage at gunpoint for five hours at Shantipada in Balangir town over rejection of his marriage proposal.
Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Balangir Sadar Tofan Bag said, during interrogation, Bikram was angry with the girl’s father who reportedly did not take their relationship seriously and had dismissed it as ‘time-pass’.
The accused performed this high-voltage drama of taking Dibya Lochan Panda’s family hostage in order to teach a lesson to the girl, Bag said. A resident of Talapada in the town, Bikram was allegedly in love with Dibya’s niece. While the girl was working as a clerk at Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital, Bikram had opened a computer institute.
They were educated and all was well between the two for last couple of years. But trouble started when the girl’s family rejected the relationship and tried to get her married to another person. After rescuing Dibya, his wife and son, police took Bikram to Balangir Town police station for questioning. Medical examination was conducted and he was produced in court and remanded to judicial custody as his bail plea was rejected. SDPO Bag said, two cases have been registered against Bikram basing on the complaints of Dibya’s family and police.