JAJPUR: Hundreds of locals gheraoed Jajpur Sadar police station on Friday demanding immediate arrest of all the accused involved in the murder of a 32-year-old fellow villager.
Victim, Tapan Lenka, was allegedly assaulted by Chandan Nayak of Kacherigaon village and his associates over sand lifting from Kharasrota river on May 27.
Villagers said Chandan was involved in sand smuggling for past couple of years. On May 27, Tapan went to the river bed to collect sand for personal use when Chandan arrived with his brother, father and two associates to prevent him. Tapan opposed this, saying the sand ghat was not leased to anyone, following which the accused and his associates thrashed him, injuring him critically.
Tapan was rescued by his family members and rushed to the district headquarters hospital. He was later shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack after his condition deteriorated but he succumbed on Wednesday.
Though the deceased’s family members filed a complaint and named five persons in the FIR, police arrested only Chandan two days after the incident while four others remain at large.
Jajpur SP Yash Pratap Shrimal and SDPO Prasant Majhi rushed to the spot and held discussions with the protesters. The protest was withdrawn after the SP assured them of the arrest of all accused involved in the crime.
“We have formed a special squad to arrest all accused involved in the crime. We are on the job and will arrest them soon,” said Majhi.