Aug. 26: A 70-year-old chief priest of a mutt was found murdered at Berhampur’s Nua Baulajholi village in the sadar police station area.

The deceased, Babaji Anand Bishoyi belonged to the Mahima cult and was from the same village. He had been staying at the gadi (ashram) for the last three years.

“His naked body, with deep injuries on his neck, hand, head and chest, was found on the floor yesterday. It seems he was attacked with sharp weapons. We investigated the spot for nearly eight hours with the scientific team and a sniffer dog. Circumstantial evidences suggest that some one close to the victim killed him. It appears that there was a scuffle before he was killed,” Harihar Pani, sub-divisional police officer of Berhampur Sadar, said.

It is said Baba Anand practised black magic. He had four sons and two daughters. While two of his sons stay away, the other two live in the same village. One of his married daughters had served him dinner on Sunday night, said a villager.

People have said they had seen the Babaji sitting on the verandah around Sunday midnight.

Police sources said Babaji wanted to sell some land on the outskirts of his village to a businessman and had received Rs 1 lakh from him. Later, he refused to part with the land because he felt it would fetch more price.

“We are looking into the real estate angle as well the fact that he was practising blackmagic,” police said.

Arrest cuffs on wife

Mayurbhanj police have arrested a woman and her brother-in-law on the charge of killing her husband.

The deceased, Gobardhan Luhara of Dengam village located on the foothill of Similipal, was found murdered in his house on Sunday night.

The police nabbed the accused, identified as Hemalata Luhara, 25, and Kashi Luhara, 24, yesterday.

Hemalata is Gobardhan’s wife and Kashi is his younger brother. They have been sent to jail. Police sources said the duo had developed an illicit relationship and killed Gobardhan to grab his property.

Udala sub-divisional police officer K.C. Nayak said: “Hemlata had an illicit affair with the younger brother of the deceased. Gobardhan had expressed resentment at their affair and they decided to eliminate him.”

Police investigation revealed that the accused duo strangulated Gobardhan, while he was fast asleep on the fateful night.

In another incident at Rairangpur, the police arrested a 25-year-old youth for killing his brother.

The victim has been identified as Runa Murmu. The accused, identified as Bikram Murmu, had allegedly smashed Runa’s head with a stone. The two had put up a quarrel over money. Bikram was sent to jail after his bail plea was rejected.

Rairangpur sub-divisional police officer Mohan Pani Karua said: “Bikram had taken a loan of Rs 1,500 from his elder brother Runa for his medical treatment. When Runa demanded the money back, the latter got infuriated. He then thrashed him with a heavy stone.”

Duplicate goods

Sahadev Khunta police today arrested two persons for selling duplicate items in Balasore. Police after receiving a complaint conducted raids at their shops, where they sold computer parts and peripherals.