Berhampur: Two youths were allegedly beaten to death and later their bodies were torched at Mahuda village under Digapahandi police limits in Ganjam district, a source said Thursday.
The deceased duo were identified as Siba Gouda and Litu Gouda.
Locals spotted the two charred bodies near the bushes in the village late Wednesday night and immediately informed the police.
Subsequently, cops rushed to the spot and sent the bodies for postmortem.
Berhampur SP along with a scientific team reached the village and launched a probe into the incident.
According to the source, both Siba and Litu were friends and were associates in a tractor business. A preliminary probe suggested that in late Wednesday evening, the duo had gone to collect money from some people whom they had lent earlier. However, a fight broke out between the duo and a few villagers after which they were beaten to death, the source added.
Later, the assailants set them and their two-wheeler on fire.
“They were at home at around 10pm yesterday. However, they went out to collect some money from their lenders. Their mobile phones were on till 11pm. Later their phones were switched off. We thought they might have gone for some work and would return. So, we waited for them until 2am. We were worried when they did not arrive and then searched for them,” a family member of one of the deceased said.
Commenting on the incident, Berhampur SP said, “We received information that two bodies were set on fire at around 1am last night. Soon, the IIC reached here with his team and doused the flames. Now, the relatives have identified the bodies and a scientific team has also been deployed. We have detained 15 suspects from the village and questioning them”.
“There were a couple of criminal cases pending against the two deceased in Digaphandi Police Station. Locals are claiming that they were antisocials,” the SP informed.
PNN