Baripada, Sept. 21: Mayurbhanj police has unearthed a murder that took place 10 days ago and arrested three persons.

Sub-divisional police officer Dhiren Chandra Nanda said: "The murder was committed by the accused following heated arguments in an inebriated state. The three accused beat the victim to death. Then they threw the body in the river."

"The autopsy report gave us the lead on the crime," he said.

The accused have been identified as Dasari Sing, 19, Dillip Basalia, 35, and Tuna Nayak, 20. After killing Smrutikanta Parida of Ambadiha village under Udla police station limits on September 11, they had thrown the body in the nearby river. The body was found in river Deo the next day.

The police had begun investigation after registering a case of unnatural death. But the elder brother of the deceased had lodged a complaint with the police alleging that his brother had been murdered. The police intensified the probe after the post-mortem revealed that the injuries had been caused before the death. They learnt that the accused trio and the deceased had come to Ambadiha village to attend the funeral of a relative.

On the night of the funeral, a feast was held and both the accused and the deceased attended that. There, they consumed alcohol. During the feast, a heated argument took place over some minor issues, during which they beat Smrutikanta to death and threw the body in the river Deo, the police said.

Minor raped

Rasgobindapur police today apprehended a juvenile on the charge of raping a five-year-old girl. The incident took place at Khandikhala village. The accused is the cousin of the victim and both live in the same village. He committed the crime in the absence of other family members of the victim, said the police.

Deposit firm MD

Police in Bhubaneswar detained the managing director of a money deposit-collection company after investors nabbed and handed him over to the cops. Bairi Ganjan Dash is the chief of SLB Multi State Co-operative. The police said he would be handed over to Balasore police where he is facing charges of duping investors.