Joda: In a shocking incident, a 15-year-old boy hacked his stepfather to death with the help of his two friends at Hanuman hutting in Joda town in Keonjhar district Sunday.
The deceased was identified as Manoj Kalandi, 45, a resident of Hanuman hutting in this town. The accused stepson and his two associates are absconding after the incident. The incident has once again brought to light the increasing involvement of minors in offences like vandalism to serious crimes like murders.
Police said the 15-year-old accused attacked him with an iron rod and later with a sharp-edged weapon following a heated dispute. Two of the boy’s associates also allegedly joined the assault before all three fled the scene.
According to reports, Manoj, despite being married, remarried a widow five years back. His second wife had a 15-year-old son from an earlier relationship. Manoj was not on good terms with his stepson and the two had frequent arguments on various issues.
The incident occurred when Manoj was on his way to the local market on his scooter (OD 09 G 8372) at around 9am Sunday. The boy waylaid him and struck him with an iron rod. As Manoj collapsed, he and his two friends launched an organised attack on the former and assaulted him with iron pipes and sharp-edged weapons before absconding from the scene.
Local residents rushed Manoj to the Tata Steel Hospital in critical condition, where doctors pronounced him dead.
Joda Police have registered a case (299/2025) and launched a manhunt to trace the accused killers.
PNN
