As expected, it turned out to be an eye-for-an-eye in last week’s transporter murder case of Cuttack. Revenge was the motive behind the murder of transporter Amarendra Rout, who was gunned down in broad daylight at a crowded place last week near the Badambadi bus terminus here.
This was claimed by acting city DCP Bidyutlata Nayak on Wednesday quoting the reported confessional statements made by the three accused persons, who were arrested and forwarded to court on the day. But the city police were completely silent as to what they had done over these days to stop such brutal murders enacted at busy marketplaces in broad daylight.
The vicinity of the Badambadi bus terminus has seen at least five brutal killings of transporters over the past ten years. While business rivalry and one-upmanship by an influential group are the main causes of such atrocious crimes, the local administration, particularly, the police have done little to check the trend.
According to police, one Akshay Rout of the locality was nurturing a grudge against Amarendra believing that the latter was behind the murder of his brother Jaina, who was shot dead in similar situation in January 2012. Jaina too was a bus owner and due to a business rivalry, he and Amarendra were always at loggerheads, the police said.
Waiting for an opportunity to eliminate Amarendra to settle scores, Akshay had engaged three sharp shooters from different parts of the city and last Saturday when Amarendra was returning to his home at Shankarpur from the bus terminus, the shooters coming by a bike intercepted him and fired at him from close range.
A profusely-bleeding Amarendra was rushed to the hospital but doctors at SCB medical college and hospital declared him brought dead. Amarendra had received two gunshot injuries in his head and face. Registering a case, the local police on two separate days arrested the shooters and they were forwarded to court on Wednesday, the police said.