Bhubaneswar, May 8 (IANS) A day after the brutal mob lynching of a police constable shocked Odisha, another incident of violence was reported on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, where a man was allegedly beaten to death by his friend over a financial dispute in the Balipatna area on Friday.

The deceased was identified as Rakesh Kumar Das, 43, a resident of Athantar village under the Balipatna police station limits in Bhubaneswar. Das worked as a driver, the police said.

A police official said the accused, Jakir Shah of Bengabati village, and the deceased were reportedly close friends. Preliminary investigation revealed that Das had borrowed Rs 25,000 from Shah a couple of months ago.

However, despite repeated demands from Shah to return the money, Das was allegedly avoiding repayment and continued delaying the payment on one pretext or another, the official added.

“On Friday morning, Shah again went to Das’ residence to demand repayment of the money. The two reportedly got into a heated argument after Das once again avoided repaying the loan amount,” the official said.

Police said Shah later returned home empty-handed and allegedly nursed a grudge against Das over the repeated delay in repayment.

Later in the day, when Das had gone to the market in Bengabati village for some personal work, Shah allegedly attacked him with an iron rod, inflicting severe head injuries.

Locals immediately rushed Das to Capital Hospital, where doctors later declared him dead.

After being informed about the incident, police reached the spot and apprehended the accused, who is currently being detained at Balipatna police station.

He is scheduled to be produced before a court on Saturday. Police further said that the post-mortem examination of Das’s body would be conducted on Saturday, after which the body would be handed over to his family members.

–IANS

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