CUTTACK: A 20-year-old youth was brutally murdered at Pradhanpada in Gopinathpur gram panchayat on Saturday night.
The victim, Tapas Pradhan was sleeping on the verandah of the library-cum-club in his village after attending a feast when an unidentified miscreant slit his throat with a sharp weapon. Hearing his screams when some locals rushed to the spot and found him lying in a pool of blood.
Sources said, Tapas was in love with a girl of his village. The girl’s family had been opposing their relationship and had assaulted Tapas around six months back. Though the matter was amicably settled, the girl’s family had allegedly been planning to eliminate Tapas, said sources.
On being informed, senior police officers including additional DCP Anil Mishra and ACP Arun Swain rushed to the spot and launched an investigation with help of scientific team and sniffer dog. “While Tapas’ father Prasant Pradhan, has filed an FIR, we are interrogating some suspects. We hope to crack the case soon,” said Jagatpur IIC Omm Prakash Mohanty.