The Commissionerate Police on Tuesday detained four youths in connection with the murder of an MPharma student in the Chintamaniswar area on Monday night.
Commissioner of Police (CP) Dr Rajendra Prasad Sharma said, “Efforts are on to identify the culprits and to arrest them.”
Notably, a 23-year-old pharmacist student was allegedly stabbed to death by a group of goons for opposing hooliganism on Monday evening in the busy Chintamaniswar area.
Sources said the deceased, identified as Manmohan Pradhan, a resident of Delang in Puri district, was pursuing MPharma at the Jayadev College near Naharkanta on the city outskirts. On Monday evening, he had come to meet his classmate laximinarayan Rout at the latter’s rented house near the Chintamaniswar Square, where a group of people allegedly involved in the crime were staying.
The incident occurred at around 7:30 pm when around 10 armed goons dragged Pradhan and his friend Rout, a BPharma student, to the road and brutally stabbed Pradhan in public and fled from the spot by bikes.Since the group always indulged in creating crimes, it did not go down well with Rout, sources added. He appraised the matter to the house owner who asked them to vacate the room by the month-end. Angry over it, the goons beat up Rout.
On Monday, Pradhan had come to mediate and solve the issue after his friend informed him over phone. The goons had heated arguments with Pradhan when he asked them not to disturb his classmate any more. Then, they chased him and caught him near the Chintamaniswar pond before stabbing him to death. Even as Rout immediately rushed Pradhan to the Capital Hospital, he succumbed to his injuries on the way.
According to the statement of Rout, the laxmi Sagar police registered a case and are investigating it. “Seven to eight people are involved in the murder as per statement of the deceased’s friend. We are looking into the matter and making efforts to identify them,” said Sharma.