Khamar: The Khamar police Monday arrested six persons including two minors for their involvement in murdering three persons including a woman over suspicion of witchcraft in Angul district.
The deceased have been identified as Budhu Chatar (55) of Jitmunda Kolha Sahi and Matei Gagrai (48) of Dhipa Sahi. The accused are Shankar Purtty, Niranjan Champia, Chandra Danga, Titu Danga and two minors.
According to the police, the accused attacked the trio with sharp weapons at a place in Kunjam panchayat under Khamar police limits in Pallahara block of Angul district July 30 night. After committing the crime, the accused tied up the bodies and dumped them in Somakoi river, in a bid to destroy proof.
However, Budhu’s body was spotted in the river Sunday and the local people informed the police. The police recovered the body and sent it for postmortem. The next day, Matei’s body was recovered. The body of Muni Chatar, wife of deceased Budhu, was not found till the filing of this report. Preliminary investigation revealed that the arrested Shankar is the son of Muni Chatar.
On the basis of the family members’ allegation, the police registered a case and have launched a detailed probe.
PNN