Keonjhar: Chaos unfolded after a youth was allegedly beaten to death by a man, triggering massive outrage among villagers who set the latter's house on fire and attacked his family in Anandpur area of Odisha's Keonjhar district on Tuesday night. The three injured kin of the accused have been rushed to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. 

The deceased was identified as Sheikh Rehmat Khan and the accused Muna Jena of Pandua village. Though the exact reason behind the attack is still not established, it is suspected that past enmity provoked Muna to take such an extreme step. 

As per reports, Muna fatally attacked Sheikh Rehmat with a wooden stick on the street and beat him until he succumbed. When the news spread, it triggered a massive outrage among the villagers who gathered together and staged an agitation demanding arrest of the accused. Some of them, in a fit of rage, went set Muna's house ablaze. They further attacked Muna's parents and cousin brother in which the trio sustained critical injuries. 

Police, on getting information, rushed to the spot. The agitators were pacified after Muna was arrested. The body has been seized for postmortem. The injured kin of the accused were first rushed to Anandpur Sub-Divisional Hospital but later shifted to SCB in Cuttack when their condition deteriorated.

Security has been beefed up and six platoons police have been deployed at the site to prevent any further flare-up, official sources informed. 

 

Â