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Odisha youth tries taking family hostage over spurned marraige offer
A 25-year-old businessman in western Odisha district of Balangir took three members of a family hostage at gunpoint over spurned marriage offer on Tuesday before he was nabbed, police said
A 25-year-old businessman in western Odisha district of Balangir took three members of a family hostage at gunpoint over spurned marriage offer on Tuesday before he was nabbed, police said.
Bikram Panda entered the house of retired school teacher Madan Mohan Hota in Shantipada area of Balangir town on Tuesday morning when Hota was finishing prayers. Thinking of him to be an electrician, Hota let him in. Moments later Panda brandished a country-made gun at Hota and threatened to kill him and his family members.
“The youth asked Hota to call his niece with whom he was in love. The girl’s family had apparently spurned his marriage proposal. When Hota said his niece had left for her workplace at Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital, he demanded that the girl be called back immediately,” said Balangir Superintendent of Police, Nitin Kushalkar. The girl lived with Hota’s family.
Hota ran into a room with his wife and two sons, locked it from inside and called up the police. A team from Balangir town police station and fire personnel reached the spot. Sub-divisional police officer Tophan Bag reached the spot requested Panda to let the family members go. The police also asked some of his friends to request him to release the hostages. A team of journalists was then sent in to negotiate with him. The youth, however, hurled abuses at them and threatened to kill himself if they tried to persuade him, officials said.
When the ploy did not work, the police then called Panda’s brother and mother to convince him to release the family. While they were engaged in a conversation with him, a police team led by SP Nitin Kushalkar, wearing bullet-proof jackets, entered the first floor of the house from a backside window and brought Hota, his wife and sons with the help of a rope and ladder after nearly a five-hour-long operation.
The youth was subsequently nabbed and taken to the police station for further interrogation. As per the officials, he fired few shots at the police too before he was nabbed.
Police officials said the youth was in a relationship with the girl and had proposed marriage. He was upset as the girl’s family members had fixed her marriage with someone else.
“The youth’s friends say he is a quiet, soft-spoken and well-behaved person. Maybe, he was mentally disturbed after hearing about the girl’s engagement,” said SDPO Bag.
