Odisha Man Hires Hitmen, Gets Brother Killed Over Land Dispute: Cops

A 28-year-old man allegedly hired hitmen and got his brother killed in Odisha's Balasore district over a land dispute, police said on Friday.

The incident happened on Tuesday, and after three days of frantic search, the body of Bhavani Rout (21) was found in a lake, they said.

The body of Bhavani's friend Manoranjan Mohapatra was also found in the Blue Lake. The hitmen allegedly killed him as he saw Bhavani's kidnap, and two bodies were disposed of in the lake, they added.

Police said they cracked the double-murder and arrested six people, including Bijay Kumar Rout who ordered the hit.

The investigation into the case was started after Bijay lodged a missing persons' complaint at the Nilgiri police station about his brother, they said.

Bijay had paid Rs 1.70 lakh to hire the hitmen, Superintendent of Police Sagarika Nath said.

During questioning, Bijay broke down and confessed to the crime, she said, adding that the weapons used in the murder had been recovered.

However, one accused is still at large and a search is on for him, police said.

In another incident in the district, the decomposed body of a woman was found in a pond in the Jaleswar area on Friday, police said.

The woman would have been between 30 and 35 years, and her face is beyond recognition, they said.

It is suspected that she was murdered and the body dumped in the pond, they added.

An investigation is underway, police said. 

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