Cuttack: Three persons were found with their throats slit in separate incidents in the city in the past 24 hours, said police sources who appeared clueless about the gruesome incidents.
The three victims were daily wagers who invariably slept on the pavements at night. “We suspect, it could be the handiwork of one person in these incidents. He has used the same weapon to slit throats of three persons. The accused may be suffering from some psychosomatic disorder,” said Police Commissioner Satyajit Mohanty.
Some residents spotted a man lying with his throat slit near SCB Medical College and Hospital in the wee hours of Wednesday. He died while being treated at the hospital. However, police are yet to identify the victim.
Mangalabagh police have registered a case of murder and sent the body for postmortem. Locals, however, claimed the victim was a rag picker who was spotted in Mangalabagh and Ranihaat areas for years.
“We would keep the body at the mortuary for identification,” said a police officer.
In another incident, passersby spotted a man’s body with knife marks on its throat near OMP children’s park under Chauliaganj police limits Wednesday morning.
Police recovered the body and sent it for postmortem. A case has been registered in this regard.
Locals claimed the victim was doing some odd jobs in the locality and he used to sleep on the footpath.
A scientific team of Odisha Police visited the two spots and collected blood samples.
Notably, Kodanda Rout, a 55-year-old daily wager from Dhenkanal, was found dead in a lane in Ranihaat area Tuesday morning. Someone had killed Rout by slitting his throat with a sharp weapon, police said.
Mangalabagh police registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC and began an investigation.
The three incidents have created panic among the locals. Police, meanwhile, asked shelter-less people to maintain high alert at night.
The Police Commissioner directed security personnel to beef up night patrolling in the city.
“We have planned to bring all destitutes to one place at night. Our officials will keep strict vigil in the area,” said the Police Commissioner.