BERHAMPUR: A 22-year-old youth was brutally hacked to death by a group of miscreants over previous enmity near Jagabandhu Sahi within Bada Bazaar police limits in Ganjam’s Berhampur during the wee hours on Tuesday.
Police identified the deceased as Bidyadhar Panigrahi of Laxminrusingha Sahi in the city. Bidyadhar was reportedly arrested and sent to jail in connection with a recent clash. He was released on bail last week.
Sources said Bidhyadhar, his friend Narasingha Sahu along with four others were returning after dropping off a friend at the local railway station late in the night on Monday. At Sana Bazaar chowk, four of them headed to their respective homes on a different route.
Bidyadhar and Narasingha were proceeding towards Laxminrusingha Sahi on a two-wheeler when a group of around 10 youths armed with swords and other sharp weapons waylaid them at around 1 am.
The miscreants forcibly took them to Jagabandhu Sahi where they had a heated argument with Bidhyadhar. Suddenly, they started attacking the duo with their weapons. To save his life, Narasingha ran away from the spot. However, Bidyadhar was mercilessly hacked to death.
After the miscreants fled, Narasingha, who was watching the incident from a distance, arrived on the spot and took a critically-injured Bidyadhar to his home on the bike. The youth’s family members rushed him to MKCG Medical College and Hospital at Berhampur, where he later succumbed due to profuse bleeding.
On being informed, police reached the spot with sniffer dog for investigation. Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M said the murder might be a fallout of old enmity as the victim was involved in a recent clash. A case was registered in this connection and three suspects have been detained for questioning. Further investigation is underway.