Bhandaripokhari: A ward member of Sarasada pan chayat under this police limits in Bhadrak district was hacked to death by co-villagers over an encroachment drive being carried out on the village road Wednesday night, police said. The victim was identified as Jagan Sahu, 40, a ward member of Ward No. 13 in Kataragadia Sahi of Uttaragadia village.
Police arrested three persons Thursday in connection with the murder and recovered the blood-stained weapon allegedly used in the crime. Acting on a complaint filed by the victim’s wife, Subhadra Sahu, police registered a murder case (301/26) and arrested accused Ratnakar Sahu, his father Harihar Sahu and another person, Jagadananda Nayak, who were produced before a court Thursday.
Police seized a blood-stained, sharp-edged weapon from the prime accused. Bhandaripokhari IIC Rajalakshmi Nayak and SDPO Bishnu Charan Barik visited the crime scene with the accused and recreated the sequence of events as part of the investigation. Two motorcycles, two sticks and five to six pairs of footwear were also seized from the spot, leading investigators to suspect the involvement of more people in the attack.
Tension prevailed in the area as a large number of villagers gathered at the police station Thursday morning, demanding strict punishment for the accused. They also demanded that police hand over the accused persons in their custody. According to the complaint, Jagan had been leading efforts to remove encroachments from a village road.
A meeting was held Wednesday evening to discuss the removal of structures identified as encroachments during a revenue survey. The accused family allegedly boycotted the meeting, and the prime accused reportedly threatened that “heads would roll” if the eviction drive proceeded. After the meeting, Jagan and Batakrushna Sahu were travelling on a motorcycle at around 9pm when they were allegedly ambushed near the village entrance by Ratnakar and his associates, who attacked them with sharp-edged weapons. Hearing their cries for help, villagers rushed to the spot and overpowered the main accused.
Both the critically injured persons were taken to a local community health centre, where doctors declared Jagan dead. Batakrushna, who sustained serious injuries, was shifted to the district headquarters hospital and is reportedly in a stable condition. Police said Jagadananda Nayak is accused of helping the prime suspect escape on a motorcycle after the attack. Investigators also noted that in 2023, Ratnakar and his father Harihar had allegedly attacked Jagan with a sharp-edged weapon in a separate case, which is currently pending before a district court.
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