BALANGIR: In a new twist to the mysterious death of Rajat Kumar Pradhan (23) of Ainlachuan village, Balangir police on Thursday revealed that the youth was murdered in a planned manner as he was involved in an affair with the minor girlfriend of the prime suspect.
Balangir SP Rishikesh Khilari said Rajat’s murder was a fallout of the love triangle. The youth was in a love relationship with the minor girl of Siletpara village. When prime accused Suryakanta Selma (21) of Siletpara came to know about their relationship, he decided to eliminate Rajat.
With the help of the girl and four of his accomplices, Suryakanta hatched a plan to kill Rajat. She invited him to a secluded place where Suryakanta, his friend Rajiv Bagarty (21) and four other minors were already present. When Rajat arrived at the spot, the six accused assaulted him with sharp weapons and killed him.
Subsequently, they took Rajat’s body on a motorcycle and threw it near the railway tracks at Khujenpali village to make it look like a suicide case. They also disposed of his mobile phone in a well.
The SP said the six accused have been arrested while the girl is being questioned. Police recovered the deceased’s mobile phone from the well with the help of fire services personnel.
A knife, chopper, iron rod, lathi and the motorcycle used in the crime were recovered from the possession of the accused. Rajat worked as a Jogan Sahayak and had quit the job around two months back. He went missing on June 24 and his body was found near the tracks at Khujenpali the next day.
The youth’s father had alleged that his son was kidnapped and murdered A few days back, Rajat’s blood-stained shirt was found on a tree, around 6 km from the place where his body was found. Subsequently, hundreds of villagers of Ainlachuan gheroed the Balangir SP office demanding proper inquiry into the youth’s death.