BERHAMPUR: In a grisly crime, a 37-year-old man was tortured and murdered brutally over witchcraft suspicion at Rataguda village within Mohana police limits in Gajapati district on Saturday evening.
The deceased was identified as Gopal Mallik. Police on Sunday recovered Gopal’s mutilated body with missing organs from Harabhangi dam and arrested 14 villagers of Rataguda for their involvement in the chilling murder.
Gajapati SP Jatindra Panda said on Saturday, the deceased’s sister-in-law informed police that Gopal was abducted by some villagers. Apprehending danger to his life, she appealed to police to save him. Basing on her complaint, police registered a case and launched a probe.
Panda said during investigation, police came to know that the wife of one Subash Mallik died mysteriously in Rataguda village around a fortnight back. Villagers suspected that her death was due to witchcraft and accused Gopal of practising sorcery. Some villagers confronted him over the incident but the latter pleaded his innocence. Apprehending danger to his life, Gopal left Rataguda and took shelter in his father-in-law’s house in Goudagotha village.
The SP said Gopal returned to Rataguda on Saturday to take some household articles to his in-laws’ house. While he was busy packing the articles, a group of villagers reached his house and verbally abused him. They whisked him away to the village community hall and pressurised him to admit that he was practising sorcery.
When Gopal denied his involvement, the villagers assaulted him brutally. They later took him to a spot near Harabhangi dam and thrashed him again mercilessly. When the victim became unconsciousness, they chopped off his genitals, cut open his abdomen and hacked him to death. Subsequently, the villagers tied a boulder to Gopal’s body and threw it into the dam.
During questioning, some villagers informed police that Gopal was killed on Saturday evening and his body disposed of in the dam. While police were busy in investigation, 14 villagers tried to flee Rataguda in three auto-rickshaws. They were apprehended and during questioning, confessed to their involvement in the murder. The weapons used in the crime and the three auto-rickshaws were seized, said the SP.
On the day, police recovered Gopal’s body from the dam with the help of fire services personnel. The murder scene was also recreated in presence of the accused. Panda said the body was sent to the hospital for autopsy. The 14 accused were arrested and will be produced in court on Monday. Further investigation is underway.