Transgender lost life to save Rs 10 from snatchers

Bhubaneswar: Shocking details have emerged in the recent murder of a transgender person near Pipili in Puri district, with police revealing that the crime stemmed from an attempted snatching of a mere Rs 10 note.

During interrogation, prime accused Krushna Kandi (25), who was arrested after being shot and injured in police firing on Wednesday evening, confessed that the motive was robbery. The victim, also 25, was stabbed to death after resisting three assailants, including Krushna.


Police arrested Kandi’s associate Sanil Kandi (21) on Thursday, while efforts are underway to trace the third accused.

Investigations revealed that the trio, hailing from Konark area, were returning from Uttara towards Pipili when they spotted the victim alone along the Bhubaneswar-Puri NH-316 in the evening on Feb 1.

“On the pretext of interaction, the accused lured the victim to an isolated spot and attempted to snatch her purse. When she resisted bravely and tried to overpower them, one of them stabbed her,” said SP (Puri) Prateek Singh.

Krushna reportedly admitted that the purse contained only a Rs 10 note, which they ultimately did not steal, police sources said.

The case posed a major challenge for investigators as there were no eyewitnesses or CCTV footage nearby. “It was a blind case. IIC, Pipili police station, Soumyendu Tripathy and his team examined distant cameras, interrogated jailed criminals, analyzed intelligence inputs, and questioned the victim’s acquaintances before narrowing down on Krushna through our sources,” Singh said.

On Wednesday evening, Krushna attempted to flee on a motorcycle. He allegedly opened fire at police during the chase, prompting controlled retaliatory firing in which he was injured.

Police authorities confirmed his serious criminal background, with at least 13 cases of snatching, theft, and robbery registered against him across multiple police stations in Puri district, including Kumbharapada, Konark, Nimapara, Kakatpur, and Chandrabhaga, as well as Bhubaneswar’s Dhauli, Kharavel Nagar, Lingaraj, and Badagada areas.