Dr Dhruvraj Naik, former vice-chancellor of Sambalpur University, was discovered murdered exterior his home in Jharsuguda district on Sunday morning. He was 83 years previous.
The accused Praveen Dharwa alias Rimit (20) has been arrested for homicide.
According to preliminary investigation, Naik had lodged an FIR towards Dharwa and his members of the family a month in the past for attempting to illegally occupy the pond at Sargidihi village below Lykera police station. Dharwa was arrested and later launched on bail.
“There are two ponds in Naik’s ancestral village. He had given ponds to some families of the village on lease for three years for Rs 1,20,000. The lease expired earlier this year and he wanted to renew the agreement. But the accused and his family had refused to leave the pond, claiming that it was theirs now. This led to a dispute and Naik lodged a complaint against him and his family members,” Jharsuguda SP Bikash Das advised The Indian Express.
Police mentioned that Dharwa and his household spent Rs 15,000 as authorized bills within the earlier case, which he wished to pay from Naik. “He had gone to his house to demand money,” Das mentioned.
Naik’s son-in-law Swapna Naik mentioned, ‘I used to be at dwelling when the accused reached with an axe… my father-in-law was not at dwelling. Dharwa requested for cash from my mother-in-law however we did not know the context.”
A couple of minutes later, Naik arrived and requested Dharwa to go away. As Dharwa saved on demanding cash, Naik left the home to name. After Dharwa adopted him exterior, an argument broke out, following which he grabbed Naik by the neck and attacked him with an axe, police mentioned.
Naik was taken to the hospital however he succumbed to his accidents.
After a two-hour search, the police caught Dharwa within the forests close to the village. He was booked below part 302 (homicide) of the IPC.
Naik entered the Odisha Education Service in 1962 and served as a lecturer in zoology at Utkal University, a place he held till his retirement in June 1998. Soon after, he was appointed because the Vice-Chancellor of Sambalpur University for 3 years and he accomplished. His tenure in July 2001.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
