A day after a Biju Janta Dal (BJD) councillor was killed in Odisha’s Ganjam district, Director General of Police, RP Sharma on Sunday said those involved in the crime have been identified and efforts are on to nab them.
Three special teams led by the Superintendent of Police of the district have been formed as part of efforts to arrest the assailants, who fled from the site after committing the crime, Sharma said.
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A group of men on Saturday dragged Laxmidutta Pradhan (35), councillor of ward no 6, out of his house in Chhatrapur and attacked him with sharp weapons.
Pradhan was taken to MKCG Medical College and Hospital, where he succumbed to injuries.
Expressing the hope that the culprits would be arrested soon, he said two motor-cycles and some sharp weapons, including swords, have been seized from the site.
Enmity is suspected to be the cause of the killing, but a thorough investigation is in progress, with three teams engaging in the exercise at different places, a senior police official said.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Ramesh Chandra Sethi said the BJD leader’s younger brother Debadutta also suffered injuries when he tried to stop the attackers.
Some people have been detained in connection with the killing, police said.
The slain councillor was an accused in the murder case of Sakuru Behera, a CPI supporter, at Chhatrapur on July 23, 2014, they said.