Koraput: Police Saturday arrested five persons for the murder of a 19-year-old college student in Odisha’s Koraput district, officials said.
The accused comprise three adults and two minors.
The arrests were made within 24 hours of the murder of Debasish Kishan Kuldeep, a second-year degree student of Borigumma College and a resident of Kebidi village under Jeypore Sadar police limits, police said.
The accused have been identified as Jaga Harijan (20), Dinesh Takiri (20) and Chandra Kanta Harijan (18), besides two minors.
Police said three of the adults and one of the minors are students of Vikram Dev University.
According to police, a case was registered at Jeypore Town police station following a complaint that Debasish was wrongfully restrained and stabbed on Friday.
A special team was subsequently formed to identify and apprehend those involved in the crime.
“Based on the complaint, CCTV footage was analysed to establish the identities of the attackers. Acting on reliable information, a raid was conducted near Parabeda in the early hours of Saturday, during which Harijan was apprehended. During interrogation, he confessed to his involvement in the crime and disclosed the names of the other accused. Subsequently, the others were apprehended,” Jeypore SDPO Archita Mittal said.
Based on Jaga’s statement, police recovered and seized the alleged weapons used in the crime, including a knife and an iron rod. Two motorcycles allegedly used by the accused and their mobile phones were also seized.
Police said the murder was the fallout of a longstanding personal enmity between the victim and one of the minors.
On Friday, Debasish had gone to the college of one of the minors, where the two reportedly had a heated exchange of words followed by a physical altercation.
“Following the altercation, the minor called his elder brother Harijan, who in turn called the other accused. They allegedly gathered with a knife and an iron rod and later waylaid Debasish near a motorcycle showroom in the town, where he was assaulted,” police said.
The attackers allegedly stabbed Debasish multiple times. He was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital in Jeypore in a critical condition, where doctors declared him dead, police said.
PTI