Bhubaneswar: A month after a criminal was gunned down in Khurda’s Begunia area, police on Monday arrested four men for the murder, attributing the killing to long-standing enmity.The accused have been identified as Ajay Bhujabal, Panchu Pradhan, Kartika Bhujabal and Manas Subudhi. Police said the quartet opened fire on Basudev Parida, 41, near Jamusahi-Dalak road under Begunia police station limits on the night of Jan 19, killing him on the spot. A special investigation team was constituted under the supervision of Khurda ASP Nihar Ranjan Pradhan and Begunia police station inspector in-charge Kanhu Charan Swain.
Police officers said that Parida had at least nine cases registered against him. He was embroiled in disputes with a group of locals, and his wife alleged that his rivals hired contract killers to eliminate him. “Old enmity was the motive behind the murder. The arrest count may rise as our investigation is still underway,” Khurda SP, Vivekanand Sharma, told TOI. Police sources said the rift between Parida and his rivals escalated after he began supervising stone mining operations at a quarry in Khurda. His rivals, who sought to exert control over the quarry, were opposed to his involvement. Matters worsened when Parida allegedly slapped one of his rivals days before the murder and publicly abused one of the arrested men. “These incidents deepened the grudge against Parida. We will seek remand of the accused to gather more information,” Sharma added.
