Miscreants kill couple over suspected practice of witchcraft in Odisha's Gajapati district

Around two to three miscreants forcibly entered the deceased's house and attacked them with a sharp weapon. Kapilendra Mallick's wife Sasmita was also chased by the miscreants and killed. The couple died on the spot.

Gajapati/Rourkela: In a macabre incident, a couple was allegedly hacked to death by some unidentified miscreants at Godapanka village under Adaba police station area in Gajapati district of Odisha, sources said on Tuesday. The identity of the deceased was ascertained as Kapilendra Mallick and his wife Sasmita.

Around two to three miscreants forcibly entered the deceased's house and attacked them with a sharp weapon. Kapilendra Mallick's wife Sasmita was also chased by the miscreants and killed. The couple died on the spot. The prime motive of the assailants carrying out the gruesome crime was not known. But, it is suspected that the double murder was a fallout of the previous enmity. The attackers were waiting for the opportune time to execute the ghastly murder, sources said.

On receiving the information, the Adaba police visited the crime spot and launched an investigation. In February this year, some miscreants had fired gunshots at Kapilendra's house alleging that the couple was practising witchcraft. Some villagers have been detained by the police for questioning over the incident. The grilling of villagers was underway.

“My sister’s husband was mercilessly killed by the assailants. When my sister saw the gruesome crime and protested, she was also chased and attacked by the criminals leading to her death,” said Saraswati Mallick, sister of Sasmita.

In another horrific incident, a minor boy was bludgeoned to death at Kacharapulia under the Tangarpali police station area in the Sundargarh district of the state. The deceased was a student of an English medium school. A relative of the deceased minor boy, said, “He was missing since Sunday. He had gone to see the immersion procession of Lord Ganesh. A missing complaint was filed when the boy did not return home."

“The boy, along with some of his friends, had gone out to see the immersion procession. One of his friends asked the boy for money, which the latter refused. This led to an altercation. One of the boys has confessed to the crime. He has been detained by the police for questioning,” the deceased kin added.