Three missing persons found 'murdered' in Balasore

BALASORE: Three people, including two women from Barapada village under Oupada police station in Balasore district, who had been missing for the last four days, were allegedly found murdered atop a hill near the village on Thursday.
The deceased have been identified as Bampha Singh (45), his wife Gurbari Singh (33), and Sombari Singh (32), all from the village.
According to sources, a community feast was organized on Sunday to celebrate the birthday of a villager. Many people had come to the feast by invitation.
While the villagers were eating, an argument ensued between two groups from the village over some issues. After the feast was over, Sombari Singh, Bampha Singh, and his wife, Gurbari Singh, were found missing.
Sombari’s son, Niranjan Singh, who studies in Bhubaneswar, could not contact his mother by phone since Sunday. His relatives in the village and other villagers also could not provide any information about her. Worried, he went to Oupada police station and filed a complaint about his missing mother.
A police team went to Barapada and enquired about Sombari from the villagers. On the basis of their statement, the police launched a search operation in the hill near the village. During the search, they found the bodies of Sombari and the couple on a hilltop 5 km away from the village. Their hands and legs were tied with ropes, and they had been beheaded.
The police sent the bodies for post-mortem and registered a case of unnatural death. They have also detained six villagers and were questioning them.
While the exact reason behind their deaths is yet to be ascertained, police suspect that they were killed on suspicion of witchcraft.