A tea vendor was allegedly murdered over a land dispute in front of the office of the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) in Bhubaneswar in the wee hours of Wednesday. The brutal killing on the eve of Ganesh Puja has sent shockwaves across the State Capital.
The deceased has been identified as Soumya Ranjan Kundu. He was allegedly killed by Kabu Dash and Pauni Dash, both auto-rickshaw drivers. The murder is said to be fallout of a dispute over a land dispute and pan shop, DCP Prateek Singh told the mediapersons.
Speaking at a presser, the DCP said, “There was a dispute over land between the two accused and the victim. They had engaged in heated arguments over the issue earlier. Late Tuesday night, the two were in a drunken state and spotted the victim at around 2am, while he was out to fetch water. The duo again picked up a fight with him over and assaulted him before stabbing him with a sharp-edged weapon. The accused duo then fled the spot.”
“On learning about the incident, Sahid Nagar police reached the spot and rushed the victim to AIIMS in a critical condition. However, he succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment. Police swung into action and arrested the duo,” the DCP said adding that further investigation into the case was on.
When questioned on why the cops were not present at the spot during the festive season, the DCP said that it wasn’t a pre-planned murder. It happened in the spur of the moment.
“I have held a meeting with all the senior police officials. Efforts are on to enforce tight security during the Puja holidays to avoid any untoward incident during the celebrations,” he further stated.
Furthermore, the DCP added that the land was an encroached government land.
“Efforts are on to demolish all the illegal encroachments across the Smart city. We are keeping a strict vigil on extortion and stringent action if anyone found collecting ‘Chanda’ or extorting people,” the DCP concluded.