Rising crimes spark fear in Odisha’s Bolangir as 2 killed in two days

A surge in violent crimes across the Bolangir district has ignited concerns allegedly over the capability of local law enforcement. Within the last two days, two murders have been reported only from Bolangir town, highlighting a perceived state of ‘lawlessness’.

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On April 12, truck driver Ram Das was allegedly murdered near Chimney Bhati locality in broad daylight. Just a day later, on April 13, Manoj Nayak, a man sitting outside his grocery shop, suffered a fatal attack with a sharp weapon. The first act was caught on CCTV, capturing the suspect fleeing from the scene wielding the murder weapon.

The two bereaved families allege murder

“Someone was looking for him (Ram Das) and was threatening him with dire consequences, hence I had told him not to go outside. However, he insisted on going out and was later killed by the miscreant and was thrown,” the deceased driver’s wife Namita Das stated.

“Manoj was sitting outside his shop when a power outage occurred for a few minutes and during that time the miscreants attacked him with sharp weapons. Manoj collapsed on the ground and became unconscious,” an eyewitness, Brahmananda Nayak said.

“He (Manoj) had gone outside the home for marketing at around 8.00 PM after having some snacks and tea. He had told me that he was going to the town. Some miscreants were waiting for him and murdered him,” Manoj’s relative, Sunita Nayak expressed.

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The police have yet to detain suspects or release official statements leaving the community in panic amidst reports of four murders in the district in just three days. Residents have expressed their fears owing to what they perceive as ‘ineffective policing’.