BHUBANESWAR: Violence and bloodshed took the sheen off Holi celebrations following the tragic murders of five men at different places in Odisha, including Bhubaneswar on Saturday. Additionally, multiple drowning incidents, resulting in the deaths of two men, one each in Puri and Kalahandi districts, dampened the festival of colours.
Police reports indicate that the five separate murders occurred due to sudden provocations during the celebrations of the festival of colours. In Bhubaneswar, two young men, Gopi Guli and Ansuman Pati, lost their lives in distinct stabbing incidents at Santipali slum and Sameigadia, respectively. Police identified the perpetrators, with past animosity cited as the motive.
“Locals alleged that the accused in both incidents were drunk. Raids are being conducted to arrest them,” Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said.
In Sambalpur district, locals from Sahoo Colony forcibly took 18-year-old Aditya Salma to participate in Holi. His body was later discovered with stab wounds in the colony. Sambalpur SP Mukesh Bhamoo stated, “We arrested accused Sahul Singh in connection with the murder. The motive of the murder appears to be past rivalry.”
A man, identified as Azad Hussein (22), was fatally attacked at Nakhara Sahi in Angul district. “We have arrested the accused Mantu Samantaray,” Angul SP Rahul Jain said.
In Berhampur city’s Chanakya Nagar, Ganjam district, a businessman, T Ramachandra Patra (42), was fatally stabbed during the celebrations. Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M confirmed the arrest of accused Chandan Kumar Sabat (32). “Both men were drinking during Holi celebrations when a minor dispute led to Patra slapping Sabat. Though Sabat initially apologised and left, he returned later to stab Patra,” Saravana told TOI.
Post-Holi celebrations, two individuals, including a tourist, drowned while bathing in the sea and a river in Puri and Kalahandi districts, respectively, on Saturday. The day also witnessed a couple’s suicide in Bhubaneswar and the deaths of three family members in a road accident in Keonjhar district.