7 minors along with 2 prime accused arrested for hacking divyang man to death in Puri City

Puri: In a major breakthrough, the Puri Police has successfully arrested as many as 7 minors along with 2 prime accused persons who were involved in the murder of a divyang man in the city recently.

While speaking to the media persons about the development of the case, Puri Superintendent of Police (SP) Pinak Mishra today informed that the prime accused persons- Bijay Kumar Khuntia (45) and Rakesh Kumar Khuntia (20) – were arrested along with seven other minor boys, aged between 15 and 17, while two other minors are still at the large.

Bijay and Rakesh are the father-son and Rakesh has nine criminal cases pending against him at different police stations, the SP said adding that all the arrested minors also have several cases against them.

Apart from arresting the nine accused persons, police also seized a sword, two knives, and a dagger from their possessions, Misha said.

According to police, Bijay and Harihar had a long pending dispute over the Khaja (a sweet) business. However, Harihar’s younger son Pradipta Sahu with the help of his friends reportedly killed Bijay’s younger son Dinesh Khuntia on August 8.

In order to take revenge of the murder of Dinesh, Bijay and Rakesh along with nine other minor boys chased and hacked Harihar Sahu, the divyang man, to death while he was walking through the Hadagodia Chhak area under the Town police station limits of Puri City on August 19.

The Puri SP also expressed concern over the involvement of minors in criminal activities and informed that the police would start counselling sessions for them and their parents.