Cuttack, April 1: A man was murdered over an alleged land dispute at Praharajpur village under Kishorenagar police limits today.

The deceased has been identified as Manoranjan Das (40). Police said Das had been attacked by his neighbours, who later set him afire.

According to the Das’ family members, Shiba Charan Sethi (45), along with his two sons, Manas (25) and Manoj (29), attacked Das when he was having a cup of tea around 7am today. “A group of persons led by Shiba came and attacked my son with sharp weapons. They attacked me and locked us inside the house. Later, they dragged my son out of the house, attacked him with sharp weapons and set him on fire,” said Malati Das, the victim’s mother.

Das has a criminal antecedent and had recently been released on bail. Around four criminal cases had been registered against Das.

Moreover, there was a land dispute between the families of Das and Sethi.

“I was not aware of the dispute. Today, they (the Sethis) came and brutally attacked my husband with sharp weapons and burnt him to death,” said Babita Das, the deceased’s widow.

Police have begun probe into the incident. “Today, we got to know that one has been murdered. Preliminary investigation suggested that Manoranjan Das was brutally assaulted and later killed by his neighbours,” said Kishorenagar inspector in-charge Deepak Ranjan Jena.

“Moreover, prime accused Shiba Sethi was undergoing treatment at a local hospital after he had been allegedly injured in firing during the tussle. So far, we have detained Sethi while his two sons are absconding,” police said.

Sethi, who has sustained a bullet injury on his right thigh, refuted the allegations.

“For the past 10 years, Manoranjan has been torturing us over a piece of land. Today, there was a clash between my two sons and Manorajan over the issue. Later Manorajan fired one round of bullet on me and I escaped from the scene to save my life. However, I am unaware as to how Manoranjan was killed,” Sethi said.

Sethi’s sons are working in a private company in Bihar. They came to the village in the morning and have been absconding since the incident.

“The reason behind the killing is still unclear and further investigation is on,” Jena said.