Binjharpur: Tension ran high after miscreants hacked two jewelers to death near Kharia bridge under this block in Jajpur district late Friday night. The victims were identified as Khageshwar Rana, 47, proprietor of Maa Tarini Jewelry at Pritipur Bazaar and his associate Chaitnanya Sahu, 55. Both were neighbours and resided at Samalpur village under Kalyanpur panchayat of the block.
On being informed, Binjharpur police rushed to the spot and started an investigation the same night but failed to get a clue. Sniffer dogs were pressed into service and they recovered a billhook, two iron bars and a pair of slippers near the murder site. Two separate cases were registered over complaints lodged by both the family members.
SP Charan Singh Meena, ASP Gopal Krushna Pattnaik, SDPO Prasant Kumar Malla and police IIC Suchitra Birjya Das visited the murder site in the morning and took stock of the situation. Notably, miscreants had fatally assaulted Rana and decamped with gold ornaments worth several lakhs of rupees four years back.
Tension was palpable in the area as traders at Pritipur and Balamukali markets downed their shutters and observed a daylong bandh over the murder. Thousands of residents and traders even burnt tyres at Balamukali Bazaar and staged a road blockade demanding immediate arrest of the culprits and compensation to the bereaved families.
They even took out a rally from Binjharpur CHC to Pritipur bazaar after the bodies were handed over to them after a post-mortem. Three platoons of police were deployed at Binjharpur police station to thwart demonstration by the agitators outside.
Locals alleged that loots and dacoities have become a regular affair due to lack of action by the police. The double murder is the result of such police inaction as the accused managed to kill the two traders and escaped.
Sources said two traders had opened their shop in the morning and were expected to return home by 8.30 pm.
Family members grew apprehensive and rang up the mobile phones of the two traders after they did not reach homes by 9 pm. Sahu’s phone was found switched off while a call to Rana’s phone went unanswered. Family members searched for them from Pritipur to Mashara Bazaar when at 11 pm a tractor driver informed them about two persons lying near the Kharia bridge.
Family members rescued them in a pool of blood and rushed them to Binjharpur community health centre where a doctor pronounced them dead. It was suspected that the two might have died due to excessive bleeding with deep cut marks clearly visible on their necks, legs and various parts of the bodies. PNN