A ration shop owner was beaten to death by a group of unidentified miscreants late on Thursday night at Bharatpur on the outskirts of the city over a silly matter.
According to reports, the miscreants under severe influence of alcohol came to the shop owned by Bhagaban Sahu (50) at Kathagola Basti of Bharatpur and asked Sahu for some disposable glasses. Sahu, who was coming out of the shop after closing its shutter, said he could not reopen the shop.
The miscreants didn’t listen to Sahu and forced him to give the glasses. Sahu’s son laxmidhar (30) and his relative Rinku Nayak (28), who were present, also tried to make the group understand about their helplessness, but the miscreants compelled them to concede their request.
A hot altercation between Sahu and the miscreants endued and the latter attacked him and his kin with wood planks, leaving all three critically injured.
After getting information from locals, the Khandagiri police reached the spot and rescued Sahu and his kin, who were rushed to the Capital Hospital, but doctors declared Sahu dead. The other two are undergoing treatment.
The police on Friday detained three persons in connection with the case. “Investigation is on. We will arrest the accused very soon,” said Khandagiri IIC Aseem Panda.