BARIPADA: The Additional Sessions Judge, Baripada Satyanarayan Patra on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to three persons for killing a 17-year-old boy over a land dispute at Moroda area in Mayurbhanj district in 2021.
The convicts were Kamal Lochan Mohanta (45) of Purnachandrapur village, Jatindra Mohanta (43) and Sovakar Mohanta both of Mahulbani village, all related to the victim Harekrushna Mohanta, were found guilty of the crime.
Additional public prosecutor Krushna Chandra Das said the trio was arrested based on a complaint filed by the deceased’s father Mantu Mohanta. A long-standing land dispute between the two families had led to the attack on the boy June 10, 2021.
Kamal, Jatindra and Sovakar had gone to Mantu’s house on the day to demand possession of a disputed land. They engaged in a heated argument with the deceased’s family. When Harekrushna suggested settling the issue through a village committee decision, the accused refused and attacked him with sharp weapon and bamboo stick, causing severe injuries. He was rushed to PRM Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.
Mantu lodged a complaint at Moroda police station, leading which a case was registered under sections 341, 294, 120-B, 302, and 34 of the IPC against the accused. Following their arrest and judicial custody, the court sentenced them to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of `60,000 on each, with an additional six months of imprisonment in case of default.