Jagatsinghpur: A group of angry villagers in the district's Kulatartanga village hacked to death a history-sheeter on Saturday night.

The deceased, Nrusingha Barik, had a history of run-ins with law enforcers and unleashed a reign of terror in his native village. A couple of days before the incident, had beaten up a local youth over a petty incident, sparking resentment among villagers, police said on Sunday.

The police said the murder might have been a fallout of the regular lawlessness perpetrated by Barik in the village.

According to a police officer, a group of four-five villagers, armed with lathis and knives, intercepted Barik, 36, around 9.30pm on Saturday. The sudden attack caught him by surprise and before he could react or retaliate, the assailants hacked him to death, said Jagatsinhpur police station inspector-in-charge Rajanikant Mishra.

Barik was released from jail after he was bailed out in an extortion case six months ago. He was involved in eight criminal cases under Jagatsinghpur police station limits alone. Besides, he was also facing trial in over a dozen criminal cases in areas under other police station in Jagatsinghpur district, as well as Kendrapara, Jajpur, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

The police said he was involved in cases of attempt to murder, extortion and highway robbery.

The assailants, who have been identified, had no history of crime. However, the police said that the crime was pre-planned.

Some villagers decided to eliminate Barik after he attempted to breach peace in the village after being released from jail, said a police offer.

"We have detained a group of suspects. Earlier, a local resident had turned to lay claim over the murder. But we found that he tried to mislead us. He was released as he was not involved," the police added.