--In another incident, man kills mother in holy city
Two brutal murders in Puri on Wednesday sent shockwaves among the residents, who expressed concern over the worsening law and order situation in the holy town.
A former member of a Jagannath Temple committee and secretary of the Suara Mahasuara Nijog, Krushna Chandra Pratihari, was shot dead in broad daylight by unidentified miscreants near Barabati Jaga near the Baseli Sahi police station in the city.
An eyewitness said two persons came by a motorcycle and opened two rounds of fire from point blank range at Pratihari during a land deal and fled from the spot.
The injured servitor was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital, but doctors declared him brought dead.
Puri SP K Vishal Singh along with a forensic team visited the murder spot to collect evidence. Singh said the servitor’s murder is a challenging case. "Our prime target is to nab the prime accused. As many as four teams have been formed to intensify the hunt," said Singh.
Pratihari, who himself had a criminal background, had come to limelight after he was arrested from Koraput following the murder of another servitor, Guna Singhari, in 2012. He was an active member of the town BJD and a close confidante of former Minister Maheswar Mohanty of Puri. However, he was acquitted in the murder case recently.
In another incident, a youth hacked his mother to death at Balighata under the Marine police station in the town. The youth attacked his mother Bunilata Dixit and other family members over a family dispute, leaving the woman killed and three others of the family critically injured. The injured are his wife, father and brother, who are undergoing treatment at the Puri hospital.
Later, the accused Bishnu Prasad Dixit was arrested.