BHUBANESWAR: Two brothers allegedly hurled country-made bombs at each other in their house in Chandaka area following a dispute over talking loudly on phone, leading to the death of the elder sibling on the spot and injuries to the younger.
The deceased was identified as Mohan Padhi and the injured is his younger brother Madan. Both were in their 30s and worked as labourers. The incident took place at their house in Mahul village within Chandaka police station limits at around 10 pm on Tuesday.
Police said both of them had consumed handia (fermented rice beer) and were in an intoxicated state when the incident took place. The family of four brothers, including Mohan and Madan, stayed in the same house.
They reportedly kept bombs in their house to use them to chase away wild boars who damaged their crops, during their nightly raids in the village.
As per police, Madan was talking loudly over the phone inside the house which triggered Mohan. When he opposed to it, the two entered into a heated exchange in the verandah. In a fit of rage, Mohan went inside the house, brought a bomb and hurled it at Madan while he was present at the yard.
Madan, who sustained serious injuries on his right hand, immediately brought two bombs and hurled them at Mohan, one of which struck Mohan on his head, leading to his death on the spot.
Zone VI ACP Manas Ranjan Pradhan said seriously injured Madan was rushed to Capital Hospital here and later shifted to SCB Medical College in Cuttack. “The two brothers worked as labourers. Prima facie it appears they had kept the bombs in their house to drive away animals like elephants and boars,” he added.
Meanwhile, no bomb-manufacturing materials were found during searches at their house. “The explosives had been procured by Mohan. Efforts are on to ascertain the source of the bombs,” Pradhan added. Meanwhile, police have registered a case of murder and launched an investigation into the matter.
Police sources said they are also verifying the claims that the Padhi brothers were involved in illegal country-liquor business. Senior police officers and a scientific team visited the crime scene on the day. Police are keeping a watch to ensure that no law and order situation arises during the cremation of the deceased.
