Cuttack: Amid panic over three murders on two consecutive days by an unidentified miscreant, five platoons of police have been deployed in the Silver City with an alert issued to them regarding suspicious movement of individuals post midnight.
Though the very details about the motive behind the murders and the mystery killer are yet to be revealed, several versions are doing the rounds here.
Pradeep Das, a lawyer-cum-academician, said the three incidents occurred at Ranihat, OMP and near SCB Medical College and Hospital are clear cases of cold-blooded murders. “The police have failed to curb rising incidents of crimes in the city. Use of terms like psycho killer, stoneman or knifeman is only a ploy to paint them as ‘complicated ones’.”
Meanwhile, sources also attributed the incidents to be the fallout of drug peddler-customers face-off. The victims might be drug users and the murders took place during the clashes between the drug peddler and the users, though the police are yet to say anything about it.
According to Prakash kumar Panda, a shop owner of puja items, “The OMP area, where the one of murders took place, is one of the most crime-prone areas in the city. Of late, many cases of robbery and snatching have taken place here at night.”
Many of the homeless staying near SCB Medical College and Hospital are terrified following the gruesome murders and are avoiding going out at night.
Sajid Ali, a destitute who stays near SCB, said “I am staying in a makeshift arrangement near the hospital for several years. Now, I’m scared and planning to stay at one of the night shelters in the city. But the condition of these shelters is deplorable.”
Meanwhile, speaking to Orissa POST, Police Commissioner Satyajit Mohanty said, “It is a challenging case for us as the murderer who killed three persons could be a psychopath one having no motive. The psychopath who is on a killing spree has been murdering ruthlessly whosoever comes before him. So, we have intensified night patrolling and providing security to the people sleeping on pavements. We are urging the destitute persons sleeping on the footpath to sleep in a group at a place where police will be present. We have also sought the help of local clubs and puja committees to nab the perpetrator.”
