Former Block Chairman Shot Dead In Odisha, Political Murder Suspected

Berhampur: A couple of weeks after the gruesome murder of BJP leader Kulamani Baral in Cuttack, a former block chairman of Beguniapada in Ganjam district was shot dead by unidentified miscreants on Wednesday.

Three bike-borne miscreants reportedly opened fire at the former block chairman Debaraj Sahoo at Sumandal Chhak. Sahoo succumbed to the bullet injuries on the spot, informed Berhampur SP.

Meanwhile, locals alleged that it's a planned murder. As the panchayat election is on the cards, Sahoo might have been eliminated, said a local.

Sahoo was block chairman between 2007 and 2012, and also active in politics. Hence, a murder conspiracy might have hatched against him to settle political scores, alleged another local.

"It is not yet clear whether it's a political murder or a case of business rivalry. We have already got some evidence against the miscreants. We will nab them soon," said a police official.

Earlier, on January 2, senior BJP leader Kulamani Baral and his associate Dibyasingh Baral of Mahanga were brutally killed.

Condemning the murder, Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi had then alleged that even though Odisha has seen 17 cases related to political murder in the recent past, there is no headway in the investigation.