Man, sons arrested for beating villager to death

Rourkela: A man and his two sons were arrested by Talsara police in Sundargarh on Tuesday for allegedly beating a villager to death with an iron rod and dumping the body in a pond. The accused, Manoj Bada (47) and his sons Abhisek (24) and Uday (21), were picked up following a fresh complaint from the victim’s wife.Police said the victim, Arbin Kujur (26) of Kanheighara Ratanpada village, had gone missing on April 27 night. His body was recovered from a village pond on April 29. An unnatural death case was registered, and the body was handed over to the family after postmortem.Suspicion grew when Kujur’s family alleged that Manoj and his sons had assaulted him earlier that evening. Acting on a FIR lodged by the victim’s wife Tarini Kachua on May 10, police registered a murder charge.In her complaint, Tarini said Kujur had accompanied two villagers to Manoj’s house on April 27 evening, where a quarrel broke out over an earlier accident involving Manoj’s brother. Kujur later returned home and informed her about the altercation before going out again that night and not returning.The postmortem report indicated head injuries and multiple injuries on the body, strengthening suspicion of foul play. During questioning on Monday night, Manoj and his sons allegedly confessed to the crime.On Tuesday, police, along with a scientific team and fire services personnel, recovered the iron rod from the pond and seized it as evidence,said Jashobanti Bag, IIC, Talsara police station.