Body found on hill in Sambalpur: Love triangle behind murder; prime accused held

Police claimed on Wednesday to have cracked the mystery behind the body earlier recovered from Lakshmidunguri hill in Khetrajpur locality of Sambalpur district, revealing it to be a pre-planned murder driven by a love triangle.

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The prime accused, Ashutosh, was arrested, while a minor girl involved in the case has been detained. Another accomplice who allegedly helped in the killing is still absconding, and police have launched a search operation to trace him.

According to investigators, the victim youth, identified as Abhaya Das, was in a relationship with the minor girl. Ashutosh had later entered the relationship, creating tension among the three. Police said the accused had devised a plan to eliminate Abhaya and clear his way.

The minor girlfriend had allegedly lured Abhaya to the hilltop, where he was first given a spiked cold drink containing sedative substances. After he had become unconscious, he was stabbed to death. The body was then thrown down the hillside before the accused fled the crime scene.

Police further revealed that the sedative and the surgical knife used in the murder were stolen from a nursing home where the key accused was employed.

“Probe team got to know that the murder was linked to triangular love, and the murder mystery was cracked. One of the accused, who is a minor girl, had a love affair with the victim youth,” Sambalpur Additional SP, Ajay Kumar Mishra, said in a presser.

“Subsequently, key accused Ashutosh had come in contact with the girl. They had hatched a plan and accordingly killed the victim youth,” the ASP expressed.