Self-styled godman kills 21-year-old nephew, held in Odisha
JAGATSINGHPUR: A self-styled godman allegedly killed his 21-year-old nephew over previous enmity and dumped his body in a pond at Jahanpur village within Jagatsinghpur police limits on Thursday.
The deceased was identified as Sumant Das, a Plus Three Science student of SVM College. The accused, Sanjay Das (40), has been arrested by police.
Sources said Sanjay, who is unmarried, proclaimed himself as a ‘baba’ and was involved in spiritual activities. He had detached himself from his family and household responsibilities. However, his activities were opposed by his elder brother and Sumant’s father Durga Charan Das and other family members.
Sumant also disapproved of his uncle’s way of life, particularly his long hair, beard and erratic behaviour, which led to frequent altercations between them. Sanjay reportedly held a grudge against Sumant and his father for humiliating him.
In the morning, Sumant was brushing his teeth when the accused allegedly attacked him with a sharp weapon, inflicting grievous injuries on his head, abdomen and other parts of body. When the injured youth collapsed on the ground, Sanjay dragged his body to the nearby village pond and dumped it in water.
Unable to find Sumant, his family members searched for him. A few hours later, some villagers spotted the youth’s body in the pond. Sumant was taken to Mandasahi community health centre where the doctors declared him dead.
Locals said there was a long-standing dispute between Durga Charan and Sanjay over the latter’s spiritual activities. They also described Sanjay as eccentric and mentally unstable.
Later in the day, Durga Charan Das filed an FIR in Jagatsinghpur police station, alleging that his brother Sanjay murdered Sumant over previous enmity. Acting on the complaint, police registered a murder case and arrested the accused.
Jagatsinghpur IIC Prabhas Kumar Sahoo said the deceased’s body was seized and sent to the district headquarters hospital for postmortem. Preliminary inquiry reveals there was past rivalry between the accused and the deceased’s father.
The accused is being interrogated. Further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact motive behind the crime, he added.