Restaurant cook hacked to death following brawl over fish curry in Bhubaneswar

A cook at a restaurant in Damana Square in Bhubaneswar was allegedly killed by a fellow staff following a petty fight over fish curry. The deceased has been identified as Pitambar Jena of Sorada in Ganjam district.

As per the allegations, the accused first hacked the cook with a ‘fish knife’ and tried to hide his body to erase evidence.  On being informed, Chandrasekharpur police detained the accused and launched a further probe into the incident.

According to sources, Jena and the accused were working in a restaurant named ‘Hotel Maa Taradei’ at Damana Square. On Tuesday night, the accused fought with Jena after the latter denied fish curry for dinner. Things took an ugly turn as their verbal altercation soon turned physical. 

The accused allegedly took a ‘fish knife’ and hacked Jena to death. To erase evidence, he even tried to hide Jena’s body, sources said. 

The incident spread outrage in the area as relatives and family members of the deceased hit the streets in Damana.

“He was working in the restaurant for the last 15 years. We are not sure if they had any previous enmity or were drunk. All we want is justice,” said a relative of the deceased.