Sundargarh: Sundargarh police arrested 11 individuals Thursday in connection with the murder of a youth over several disputes in Bijapada village, under the jurisdiction of Dharuadihi police station. Sundargarh Superintendent of Police (SP) Pratyush Diwakar confirmed the arrests, stating that the accused were involved in the killing of Chandan Dharua, a resident of Laikera police station area in neighbouring Jharsuguda district.
According to the SP, the police were alerted to an unidentified body found January 19. A case was registered the following day, and during the investigation, it was revealed that all 11 accused were from the Laikera police station limits in Jharsuguda. Of the arrested individuals, seven were identified as the primary suspects, while the remaining four were involved in the conspiracy. The seven principal suspects in the case were identified as Bibek Kuanr, 19, Arun Naik, 24, Prakash Behera alias Anthadu, 24, Saroj Naik, 25, Chandan Kuanr, 21, Harekrushna Patra alias Kanha, 23, and Sumanta Kuanr, 17. The other four individuals arrested for conspiracy were identified as Raja Dharua, 25, Subrat Patra, 17, Jiban Pradhan, 23, and Kuna Patra alias Munna, 21. “The accused had longstanding disputes with the victim, and the seven primary suspects had separate grievances with him,” Diwakar said. “They planned the murder, while the other four were aware of the plan and aided in the conspiracy.” The police also recovered seven knives from the accused.