Bhubaneswar: The Holi festival Saturday was marred by five murders as celebrations took a violent turn in four places across the state, resulting in the death of five people, either due to past enmity or altercations. Two of the five murders were reported in the state capital Bhubaneswar—one from the Saheed Nagar area and the other from the Mancheswar area of the city. In both cases, two youths were allegedly stabbed to death. A youth identified as Gopi Guli was murdered at Shantipalli slum under the Saheed Nagar police station limits in Bhubaneswar when a group of four people attacked him with knives at around noon after an altercation broke out between them during the Holi celebrations, a senior officer said. Old enmity between the deceased and the accused could be the reason behind the crime, he said. The youth died on the spot. His wife was also attacked but she managed to escape from there, the officer said, adding that the accused fled the scene and CCTV footage was being examined. Another person identified as Anshuman Pati was brutally murdered in Sameigadia area under the jurisdiction of the Mancheswar police station in the capital city, another officer said. The person was killed by a group of men following an argument over some issues during the Holi celebrations, he said. Commissioner of Police S Dev Dutta Singh visited both crime scenes to investigate the incidents and assured Saturday that the accused would soon be arrested. While four suspects were arrested from Pipli in connection with the Mancheswar murder, three suspects, including a minor, were arrested in the murder occurred within Saheed Nagar police station limits, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Jagmohan Meena said Sunday. They would be produced in court Monday, he added. Holi-related violence was also reported from other places in the state. A contractor was allegedly hacked to death by a sharp object in the Baidyanathpur police station area in Ganjam district’s Berhampur over past enmity, the police said. The deceased, T Ramachandra Patra, was attacked by one of his employees, Chandan Kumar Sabat, 32, alias Papun at Lanjipalli Chanakya Nagar in this city.
A youth identified as Aditya Salma, 18, was stabbed to death by one Sahul Singh, 25, following altercations over past enmity at Sahu Colony in Sambalpur during the Holi celebrations, another officer said. Police arrested Sahul and seized the knife used in the killing. Police registered a case and produced the accused in the court. The body was handed over to the family members after a post-mortem. A youth identified as Azad Hussain of Nakhara Sahi under Town police limits in Angul was hacked to death by Mantu Samantray of the locality during Holi celebrations Saturday afternoon. The murder took place over an altercation and brawl between the two and the victim died on the spot. Furthermore, at least five people lost their lives in multiple incidents of road accidents during the day and four people including a minor drowned while bathing after Holi celebrations.