Tension prevailed at Kandhapal village under Sadar police limits in Dhenkanal district after a 56-year-old man was shot dead following a dispute over a pond. It is alleged that the deceased, Dalai Nayak, was attacked by one of his relatives Nrupati Nayak and his family members.
As per preliminary reports, there was some dispute between Dalai and Nrupati’s family over a piece of land on which efforts were being made to dig up a pond in the village.
The deceased was a former ward member and recently, his daughter-in-law was elected ward member from the village.
Dhenkanal SDPO Bikash Behura informed, "Nrupati Nayak is a contractor and was trying to lift soil from the nearby pond using tractors. The deceased and his family members were opposing it as the vehicles were damaging the village road which was narrow. Today, the deceased opposed when tractors arrived in the village, but it irked the opponents. The accused and his family members then fired at Dalai using a country-made gun (used for hunting purpose)."
Dipak, son of the deceased, said, “My father had asked them to take JCB from another route. Later, four to five persons came and fired several rounds at my father.”
Following the death of Dalai, his family members attacked the accused’s wife and his three-year-old son when they were trying to flee the village. It is alleged that deceased Dalai Nayak’s family members attacked the accused’s wife and son who are now undergoing treatment at a hospital.
Keeping in view the palpable tension in the region, one platoon of police force has been deployed to maintain law and order situation. Meanwhile, one person has been detained in connection with the incident.