Odisha: Husband shot dead, wife injured by chain snatchers

Bike-borne chain snatchers in broad daylight looted a woman of her ornaments and shot dead her husband at Patnaikia on Bhubaneswar-Puri national highway, about 12 km from Puri on Friday.

Prima facie, police suspects the brazen murder’s motive was loot. “We are also trying to find out whether it was a revenge killing due to family dispute. The survivor keeps changing her statements for strange reasons,” said SP (Puri) Sarthak Sarangi.

“We stopped at a roadside small shop to have some beverages. After we resumed our journey, two persons came from behind and pushed me out of the bike. Then they stopped and snatched away my chain and fired at my husband. They fired two shots one of which hit my husband’s chest. They have also taken my bangles,” said the injured wife, who is being treated in the hospital.

As police gropes in dark about the killers, the shocking daylight robbery raised concern about safety travellers to Puri during the peak tourist season ahead of Rath Yatra festivity.

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The injured woman who was first saying that she was the wife of the deceased later clarified that she was a relative of the victim. Now the actual wife informed that there was threat against the life of her husband since one year. His life was in danger over tender fixing business. Further she said that her husband had illicit relationships with many and he had left the house on Friday saying that he had to go on a contract work.