An auto-rickshaw driver was allegedly hacked to death with an axe by a man outside a court in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Thursday, an attack police believe was motivated by suspicions of an extramarital affair.
The deceased has been identified as Ashok Kumar Swain (47), a resident of Buduli village within Bhanjanagar police station limits in the district.
Police said they have detained the accused, 45-year-old Dillip Kumar Jena.
A preliminary police inquiry suggests that Jena attacked Swain with an axe under the suspicion that the victim was involved in an affair with his wife.
Swain sustained multiple severe injuries and was initially rushed to the Bhanjanagar Sub-Divisional Hospital before being referred to the MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.
However, he succumbed to his injuries while being taken to the medical college, according to police.
The incident took place in front of the additional district judge’s court at Bhanjanagar.
The brutal incident occurred in broad daylight directly in front of the Additional District Judge Court in Bhanjanagar.
An official stated that police managed to intercept and detain the accused as he attempted to flee the scene of the crime.
Bhanjanagar Police Station Inspector-in-Charge Jeebananand Jena said that Swain had arrived at the court to appear for a case in connection with a case registered against him about two years ago, following a complaint filed by the accused.
The complaint alleged that Swain had misbehaved with Jena’s wife and taken money from him while the accused was away.
Swain had been arrested in the case and spent about six months in jail before being released on bail.
“He was coming to appear in the court in the case, when the accused person attacked him with an axe outside the premises of the court,” the police officer said.
A murder case has been registered, and a detailed investigation is underway to establish the precise sequence of events and the exact motive behind the killing.
