Bhubaneswar, March 1 – An Army soldier and his two nephews were arrested on charges of killing a YouTuber in the Mancheswar Police station area of Bhubaneswar over a minor dispute.
The accused were identified as Samarendra Behera (20) alias Muna, Sangram Behera (24) alias Kuna, and Sangram Kesari Behera (37) alias Satura, according to police on Sunday.
The accused, who hail from the Kanpur area of Cuttack district, resided in the GGP Colony in Bhubaneswar.
Speaking to the media, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Zone V, Biswaranjan Senapati stated that YouTuber Rahul Ranjan Maharana was murdered on the school field in the GGP Colony area under the jurisdiction of Mancheswar Police at around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Upon being informed, police immediately reached the crime scene and launched an investigation.
ACP Senapati said that there were no CCTV cameras at the spot, so the police relied on human intelligence.
Later, based on the human intelligence collected at the spot, the police were able to obtain the registration numbers of two motorcycles used by the accused.
The police, using the vehicle registration numbers, traced the soldier and the other accused to their rented accommodation in GGP Colony and arrested them within a few hours of the incident.
Senapati further informed the media persons that two groups – the victim and his friends, and the accused – were present at the field on Saturday evening.
"Shiba, a friend of Rahul, accidentally came near the spot where the accused were sitting while conversing with someone on the phone. As he was using slang during the conversation, the soldier objected, which led to a heated argument between them," said ACP.
He also noted that soon the argument turned violent, and the soldier and his nephews began assaulting Shiba.
"Meanwhile, Rahul rushed to the spot and intervened in an attempt to rescue Shiba. During the incident, one of the soldier's nephews attacked Rahul with a knife, causing severe injuries. Rahul later succumbed to those injuries," Senapati added.
ACP Senapati stated that the incident was triggered by sudden provocation and ruled out any previous enmity between the accused and the deceased.
The police also seized two motorcycles, three mobile phones, and one knife.