Bhubaneswar, Aug. 6: Police arrested seven persons for allegedly killing a criminal last night.

The cops said the accused persons assaulted Tinku Nayak, 25, the victim, when he, along with one of his associates, had threatened the people living at a slum near BJB Nagar last night.

The accused have been identified as Deepak Barik, 20, Rajib Sahu, 23, Narsingh Sethy, 20, Bijay Kumar Harichandan, 42, Raj Kishore Barik, 23, Deepak Kumar Swain, 26, Bikash Sil, 26. The police said all of them stayed at the slum. Tinku, who was facing nearly a dozen cases, including that of attempt to murders, and his friend Munna Das had gone to the slum and tried to bully slum dwellers.

“When they protested, Tinku allegedly threatened them to hurl bombs and set their houses on fire. A group of youths retaliated and assaulted the duo,” said inspector in charge of Badagada police station D.P. Patro. “We have recorded the statements of witnesses under Section 161 of CrPC. We have also seized the lathis and bricks used in the attack,” said Patro.

An eyewitness said the youths had attacked both Tinku and Munna with bricks and wooden planks. “Two youths were running for their lives when another group of youths, armed with wooden planks and other sharp weapons, emerged from another side and attacked them. Munna managed to flee from the spot.”

Later, the police arrived on the spot and had to face a hostile crowd while rescuing Tinku. A sub-inspector of Badagada police station got injured in the incident. The crowd had pelted the police personnel with stones. Tinku was taken to Capital Hospital and was later being shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital. However, he succumbed to multiple injuries on his way to Cuttack.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that Tinku used to harass the slum dwellers and had even assaulted a few of them in the recent past,” said a police official.