Youth stabbed to death for siding with umpire during cricket match
CUTTACK: In a shocking incident, a 22-year-old youth was stabbed to death during a cricket match after he came to the rescue of the umpire who was being manhandled by some spectators over a dismissal during the game within Choudwar police limits on Sunday.
Lucky Rout, also a spectator, was a resident of Mahisalanda village where the u-14 match was underway. He was assaulted with a cricket bat before being stabbed in the chest. After the incident, one of the accused was immediately arrested by police while three others are still at large.
Police said a fight broke out during the match between the teams from Shankarpur and Berhampur, two neighbouring villages. After the team from Shankarpur scored 114 runs, Berhampur began its chase. During the second innings, a batsman of Berhampur was declared caught behind by the umpire which sparked off trouble.
Sangram Rout who was in the audience to cheer for Berhampur rushed to the pitch and pressured the umpire to declare the delivery a no-ball. When the umpire stood his ground, Sangram was joined by two other spectators and they started to manhandle him. That’s when Lucky came to the rescue of umpire.
In the melee, Sangram called his cousin Smruti Ranjan Rout who rushed to the spot with a knife. While Sangram hit Lucky with a bat, Smruti stabbed him in the chest. He was rushed to SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack where he was declared dead, DCP Pinak Mishra said.
Police arrested Sangram whereas Smruti managed to flee. Following the incident, irate locals gheraoed the police team which reached the spot for investigation. Police have been deployed in the two villages to prevent any untoward incident.