BHUBANESWAR/BERHAMPUR: A couple in their mid-40s were allegedly hacked to death at a Naxal-affected area in Kandhamal district late on Friday night. However, initial investigation by police suggested ultras were not behind the killings.
As per police, there is no clear evidence of Naxal involvement. Also, no note was left behind by the left wing extremists to suggest they killed the couple identified as Dahira Kanhara and Batasi. They were from Gumaldani village within Gochhapada police limits.
Besides, Naxal operatives do not use sharp weapons for violence, police said. Dahira and Batasi had succumbed to head injuries apparently caused by sharp weapons.
Police suspect the double murder could be over suspicion of witchcraft or personal enmity like cultivation of ganja. The bodies of Dahira and Batasi were found by villagers on two sides of a river on Saturday morning. “There are some allegations that the husband-wife duo was practising witchcraft,” said police sources.
Sources said tribals cultivate ganja illegally in remote Gidapadar area. The area where they carry out such cultivation does not have any road and is located deep inside the forest. Police are probing whether the couple was targeted over any rift over ganja cultivation. During the ganja cultivation season, tribals set up hamlets in Gidapadar by felling the forests. The area is not habitable and the tribals involved in the illegal cultivation of the contraband camp there for a couple of days.
“Our preliminary probe does not indicate Naxals involvement in the murders. They usually leave behind a message mentioning the reason behind the crime and even warn the villagers. However, investigation is in initial stage and nothing can be ruled out as of now,” said Kandhamal SP Suvendu Kumar Patra.
Southern Range inspector general, JN Pankaj, stated preliminary findings suggest a higher probability of witchcraft-related motive. “The absence of bullet wounds on the victims’ bodies also suggest that the injuries are likely caused by blunt objects such as lathis or wooden planks,” Pankaj mentioned.