BERHAMPUR: Two anti-socials who had spread a reign of terror in Mohuda village under Digapahandi police limits were allegedly beaten to death and their bodies were set afire by a group of exasperated locals on Wednesday night. The deceased have been identified as Litu Padhi (48) and Siba Gouda (31) from the nearby Lathi village. The duo, notorious history-sheeters, allegedly used to harass and terrorise the locals by extorting money from them.
Despite repeated complaints by the villagers against the duo’s activities, police allegedly had taken no action against them. The villagers had even staged a road blockade protesting the inaction last week. Though police assured them of checking the criminals, nothing was done, they stated. Unable to tolerate their atrocities, a group of villagers on Wednesday night accosted the duo at their hangout – a local liquor shop. They allegedly thrashed the duo to death at the spot.
When they realised the two were dead, they tried to erase evidence by burning their bodies. They took the bodies of the deceased in their motorcycle to an isolated place on the outskirts of the village and set them on fire. As the early morning traffic started to increase in the nearby road, the people fled the spot leaving the bodies half-burnt.
Sources said, some passersby were taken aback by the odour of burnt flesh and informed police. Soon a team of police officers rushed to the spot and seized the half-burnt bodies. Berhampur SP Dr Saravana Vivek M also visited the spot with the scientific team and sniffer dog for investigation on Thursday morning.
The family members of the deceased have identified the bodies which were then sent for postmortem. “We have detained 17 people for questioning. The persons involved in the murder have been identified and would be nabbed soon,” said the SP. Meanwhile, the incident has fuelled tension in the area. Apprehending trouble, police forces have been deployed in the village.