‘Mentally ill’ youth held for bludgeoning parents, sister to death

Kendrapada: A 22-year-old ‘mentally challenged' youth was arrested for allegedly bludgeoning his parents and elder sister to death at Jagabada village in Jagatsinghpur district, police said on Tuesday.
The accused, Suryakanta Sethi, reportedly attacked his father Prasant Sethi (62), mother Kanakalata Sethi (58), and sister Rajalini Sethi (25) with a stone on Monday night while they were sleeping, causing fatal head injuries, Jagatsinghpur superintendent of police Bhawani Sankar Udgata said.
During interrogation, Suryakanta, a graduate, confessed to having attacked his family following an argument over his returning home late in the night, drunk. The victims reportedly retaliated, resulting in the accused losing two teeth and suffering injuries in his right leg.
"A blood-stained stone and two broken teeth were recovered from the crime scene," Udgata said. "Preliminary investigation suggests the accused is mentally ill, though the exact motive behind the triple murder is still under investigation."
Suryakanta is the youngest of four siblings. The incident came to light when his eldest brother Ramakanta Sethi, who stays in Keonjhar, rushed to the village and filed an FIR. Another brother, Umakanta, works in Jharsuguda.
Police have registered a case under Sections 103 (murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of BNS. A scientific team has been deployed, and senior police officers are camping at the site to investigate the case.
The bodies have been sent to the district govt hospital in Jagatsinghpur for post-mortem examination to determine the exact cause of death. The accused, who attempted to flee after the incident, was caught by the police.