Jharsuguda: A 25-year-old youth was allegedly hacked to death by his neighbour in a case of mistaken identity at Suldia Lalumunda village under Lakhanpur police limits in Jharsuguda district late on Tuesday night.
The deceased, identified as Pradeep Bhoi, was sleeping on the veranda of his house when the accused allegedly attacked him with an axe, mistaking him for his elder brother Uttam Kumar Bhoi, police said.
According to police, Pradeep sustained grievous injuries on his hands, chest and neck. Hearing his screams, family members rushed out of the house, but the assailant had already fled. He succumbed to his injuries before being shifted to hospital.
Following the incident, Jharsuguda SP G R Raghavendra, along with Brajrajnagar SDPO, Lakhanpur police, scientific team and dog squad, reached the spot and launched an investigation.
Police later arrested the accused, identified as Nilamani Bhoi, a neighbour of the deceased. During investigation, police found that Nilamani had a long-standing dispute with Uttam Kumar Bhoi, elder brother of Pradeep.
“Nilamani allegedly held a grudge against Uttam Bhoi due to previous disputes and planned to eliminate him. Uttam usually slept outside on the veranda, but for the last two days he had been sleeping inside the house, while Pradeep was sleeping outside. Mistaking Pradeep for Uttam, the accused allegedly attacked and killed him,” the SP said.
Police said the accused later hid the weapon of offence, an axe, in a nearby forest area, which was subsequently recovered during investigation.
