Boinda: The police claimed to have cracked the triple murder case in Gambharimaliha village under Sanjamura panchayat in Angul district with the arrest of two persons Thursday.
The accused were identified as the brothers-in-law Nandakishore Sethi alias Ranja of Gambharimaliha village under Kishorenagar police limits and Babuli Behera of Kalapatanali village near Paika Sahi under Thakurgad police limits.
A billhook, blood stained clothes and a motorcycle were seized from their possession and the accused were produced in court.
The two is said to have killed their brother-in-law Biranchi Nayak, his wife Tarani Nayak and their eight-year-old son Ekalavya Nayak alias Naba by slitting their throats late Monday night. The motive behind the family murder was greed for money and political enmity.
This was stated here by superintendent of police Brijesh Kumar Ray at a press meet organised at the Kishorenagar police station premises Thursday.
Police arrested the duo from their houses after getting tips from a woman tenant of the victims who had been detained after the incident Wednesday night, Ray said. They were brought over to the police station where the accused confessed to their crime during interrogation.
Nanda is the mastermind of the gruesome murder as he was nursing a grudge against Biranchi after his mother Durmila Sethi lost the post of ward member in 2017 panchayat elections. She had held the post in 2012.
She again contested for the same post in 2017 but lost the election after the villagers put up another woman Prabhasini Sethi as their candidate. After losing the poll, Nanda suspected Biranchi’s hand in his mother’s defeat and threatened to kill Biranchi, his brother Susant as well as four families in the village.
Later, Biranchi took a loan of Rs 1.63 lakh to invest in his business from members of Maa Maheswari Women Self-help Group which had borrowed the amount from Annapurna Micro-finance Company in Boinda October 7.
On being informed, Nandakishore asked Biranchi to give him the money to purchase a vehicle October 8. Biranchi denied borrowing the money but deposited Rs 1 lakh in his savings account at State Bank of India’s Kishorenagar branch while keeping the rest of the amount at his house.
Incensed over his denial, Nandakishore hatched a plan with Babuli to eliminate Biranchi. On the fateful night, he invited Biranchi to join them for a show at Kishorenagar.
The three went on Nandakishore’s bike and drank liquor after reaching a bridge at Pokanda Nandataila. There Nanda again demanded money from Biranchi who rejected the demand. The two slit the throat of Biranchi and killed him with a billhook before dumping his body under the bridge.
They came back to Biranchi’s house and asked his wife Tarani to accompany them with money as the former had been admitted to hospital after meeting with an accident.
Tarani doubting them raised an alarm when Babuli delivered a sharp blow on her throat with the billhook. Profusely bleeding, she tried to run away but Babuli overpowered her and again delivered a sharp blow on her neck resulting in her death.
They ransacked the house for money when Naba woke up. They asked him to accompany them to hospital and brought him near the same bridge where they showed him his father’s body before killing him in the same manner. They dumped his body two km from the place and buried their blood stained clothes before fleeing. PNN