A man was arrested for killing his close friend in the Joda area of Odisha’s Keonjhar district, the police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Durga Naik allegedly attacked Bhagabat Besra (40) with a hammer, while another, Dashrath Karua, suffered severe head injuries for trying to stop him, sources said.
According to the deceased Bhagabat’s wife, they had frequent quarrels, which escalated over the past two weeks. After a heated argument, Bhagabat left his home and started staying with his friend, accused Durga. However, she came to know that her husband’s body was discovered at Durga’s house Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, the injured man, Dashrath Karua, revealed that a heated argument broke out between Durga and Bhagabat during cooking preparations on Tuesday evening. Afterwards, agitated Durga left his house to buy liquor.
Upon returning, Durga in an inebriated state attacked Bhagabat with a hammer which subsequently led to his death. When Dashrath tried to intervene, he too was assaulted by Durga. Karua said that Durga fled the scene after the murder.
On intimation, Additional SP Pratyush Mohapatra, along with Joda police, reached the spot and launched an investigation. Later this afternoon, the police nabbed the accused Durga Naik from the nearby Jharan forest.
In this regard, a case (330/2024) has been registered at Joda police station.
According to sources, Durga was arrested for murdering his wife about five years ago and went to jail.
