Bhubaneswar, June 23: Three persons were detained in connection with the murder of an Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) agent yesterday at Khandgiribari village. The victim was allegedly beaten to death by two of his relatives. Police said they were looking for the killers, who had left the city after the incident.

The deceased, Prabodh Nayak (38), a resident of Dhusuri area of Bhadrak district, had been staying at Khandgiribari for the past six months and was working as a LIC agent.

He was beaten to death allegedly by his brother-in-law, Nihar Kant Patra, and Biranchi Narayan Paltasingh (husband of his wife’s sister) for allegedly torturing his wife Narmada. Sources said Prabodh had married Narmada last February and it was his second marriage. They often quarrelled over petty issues.

Durgamadhav Nayak, the deceased’s brother, said Prabodh’s wife had left for her house in Shastri Nagar area 15 days ago following a quarrel with her husband. “But her family members had alleged that my brother was calling her over phone and harassing her. Paltasingh and Patra told me to come to Prabodh’s house and they would have a talk on the issue. In the afternoon, I called my brother, who was in his office, and when he reached there, the accused started beating him with a piece of wood and helmet following an altercation,” said Durgamadhav.

He alleged that despite his efforts to stop them, the duo kept assaulting his brother until he fell unconscious. “They fled from the spot. I took my brother to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead,” he said. Khandagiri police were informed and they seized a piece of wood, the alleged murder weapon.

Paltasingh worked as a contractual worker in the water resource department and Patra was a computer operator working with a private agency.