SAMBALPUR: As Sambalpur police arrested on Tuesday six persons for the murder of Kalu Bahadur Biswal, a history-sheeter, under Hirakud police limits the evening before, it has emerged that the brutal and brazen killing was an act of revenge.
The gruesome killing was witnessed by a large number of onlookers and has left residents of Hirakud town deeply shaken.
The accused were identified as Saini Behera (33), Pratap Behera (24), Jaynarayan Mishra (22), Raj Barik (22), Sridhar Prasad (25), and Samir Behera (21), all with previous criminal records. Police said the group comprised brothers and close associates of Bunty Behera, a criminal who was killed by Kalu in 2019.
According to police, the accused had been plotting revenge ever since Bunty’s death. After Kalu was released on bail in 2023, they kept track of his movements and finally executed their plan on Monday evening when they spotted him near the Kartik Purnima Mandap.
Around 6.30 pm, Kalu was attacked while passing through the route with an acquaintance. The assailants first struck him with a wooden baton, and once he collapsed, they assaulted him with bricks, a sword and a sharp weapon, before slitting his throat. The person accompanying Kalu sustained injuries while trying to rescue him and is currently undergoing treatment at VIMSAR, Burla.
Following the incident, the attackers fled and took shelter in a nearby forest in Hirakud. Police which formed two special teams, arrested all six accused early in the morning.
“We had constituted two teams. With the help of scientific evidence and CCTV footage, we managed to nab all six. The murder was an act of personal vengeance,” said additional SP Ajay Kumar Mishra during a press briefing.
Police added that Kalu had a long criminal history with 17 cases registered against him in Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and nearby districts, involving rape, murder, loot, drug peddling, and kidnapping. The weapons used in the murder were seized.
