BERHAMPUR: An elderly couple was found murdered in their hut at Dunguru village within R Udayagiri police limits of Gajapati district on Wednesday.
The victims were identified as Chaitanya Mandal (69) and his wife Ijamayi (62). The incident took place when they were sleeping in their hut on a hilltop on Tuesday night. A few miscreants allegedly entered the hut and slit the couple’s throats. The couple had been staying in the hut to guard their crop and used to return to the village in the morning. The bodies were found by their son on the day.
While it is suspected the couple was killed for ornaments and cash which they kept in the hut, it is also possible that the murder was committed by some locals who suspected the practices of Chaitanya, a self-proclaimed faith healer. Police reached the spot and started investigating the matter.