Puri: A 43-year-old street food vendor was brutally murdered here on Tuesday night, police said.
The victim, identified as Sudarshan Sahoo from Khandiabandha, was found dead under the Srisetu bridge. His body was discovered by a cop deployed for the President's security detail, who alerted the police control room.
According to Siba Sankar Sahoo, the deceased's son, two unidentified individuals approached his father at their food stall in Market Square on Tuesday night. "After a brief conversation, my father asked me to go home. One of them dropped me off, but my father never returned," said Siba Sankar.
Inspector in-charge of Town police station, Sunil Pradhan, who led the investigation, confirmed the victim was killed with stone and paver blocks. "We have seized eight paver blocks from the crime scene as evidence," said Pradhan. The body was recovered around 9 am on Wednesday, less than an hour before President Droupadi Murmu's convoy passed over the same bridge.
"The fact that such a brutal crime occurred even during heightened security arrangements is alarming," said Manoranjan Pradhan, a resident.
The body has been sent for post-mortem, and police have launched a manhunt for the perpetrators. No arrests have been made so far.