Bhubaneswar, May 22: Contract killings have changed the capital city’s crime scene, sending police into a tizzy. The trend of hired goons being employed to eliminate rivals or get a painful thorn out of the flesh has alarmed even psychologists and social scientists.

Two high-profile killings in the past one month have brought contract killings into sharp focus.

In the first case last month, the brother of a former minister, who runs an NGO, allegedly paid Rs 3 lakh to eliminate a call centre employee, who used to work for his organisation in the past. The hired goons shot at her at Mancheswar.

In another case on May 8, a retired judge and his family members were arrested for hiring supari killers to do away with their domestic help, who allegedly had an affair with the judge’s son and claimed that they were married. The hired criminals, who were paid Rs 3.5 lakh for the job, picked up the 23-year-old woman from the judge’s house, tied up her hands and feet and threw her down the Jobra bridge near Cuttack. The victims, however, survived in both the cases.

In both the cases, the goons, who took supari, were new entrants in the world of crime. One of them was an MCA student in the city. This made the job of the police even more difficult, as in such cases the instant reaction of the cops is to look for history-sheeters.

“The first-timers make it hard for us as there is no previous record of their crime,” said a senior police officer. He said novices had entered the crime world of the twin cities in the past two years.

The city witnessed the first contract killing eight years ago, when Jharpada don Kuna Mangraj was gunned down by hired goons. Mangraj’s rivals, who also provided mobile phones to the killers to keep in touch with each other while shadowing him around the capital city, had given the supari to gangster Md Haneef, who led the shooting at Jharpada.

Five years later, a city builder employed contract killers to eliminate Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation councillor Mantu Mahasupakar near Samantarapur Square.

There have also been instances of criminals behind the bars hiring killers to eliminate their enemies. On November 1, 2009, a few goons, employed by gangster Bikram Mallick, who was lodged in the prison, shot dead Jharpada jail warder Manas Nayak outside the jail.

Psychologist Haresh Mishra feels that easy money is driving youngsters to such crime in the city. Sociologist D.N. Jena said growing consumerism and rising frustration among the youth was responsible for the new trend. “Those, who give supari, are emotionally disturbed. And those who carry out such crimes are too eager to make easy money,” he said.

“Bhubaneswar is a city in transition. Land mafia, builders and all kinds of neo-rich have made it their home. This is contributing to the rise in such crimes,” said Bibhu Prasad Tripathy, a senior advocate.

The city police, though successful in some cases, are yet to crack the case of Debashish Mohanty, a courier company manager, who was bumped off by his rivals last year.