All arrangements for the marriage of 28-year-old Nirjhar Behera of Choudwar scheduled for Wednesday were completed. On Sunday evening, he received a telephone call and left home to meet the caller at the nearby Birupa barrage. After over an hour, when he did not return and his telephone repeatedly went unanswered, his anxious father Kamal Behera went searching for him only to locate his body lying in a pool of blood near the barrage gate with sharp cutting wounds in his forehead.
“This is a preplanned coldblooded murder of my only son, who was excited to tie the nuptial knot in next two days,” cried the father as the wedding enthusiasm of the family and relatives turned into a state of mourning. Family members suspected that the murderers could be those who did not want Nirjhar’s marriage to be held where it was fixed. “It must be the act of another girl, who might have had one-sided love for Nirjhar,” said a relative of his.
“Prima facie, it appears that some acquaintances of the victim are behind this act,” said City DCP Akhileswar Singh, adding that all possible angles of the murder would be investigated to apprehend the culprits and their motive would be established. Meanwhile, the Choudwar police launched a massive manhunt to detect the murder case. The culprits would be nabbed soon, assured the police, adding that several raids in the locality and nearby places are on.