Sambalpur: Two persons were arrested here on Wednesday bludgeoning a 48-year-old man to death with a stone following a late night altercation near Fisheries Bandha under Town police station limits here, police said on Wednesday. The duo was identified as Aryan Singh and Sagar Swain. They were produced in a local court and remanded to judicial custody.The deceased, Gopal Bansal of Tiwari Gali in Khetrajpur, was allegedly attacked while returning home on Tuesday. According to additional SP (Sambalpur) Srimant Barik, the incident occurred between 2 am and 3 am when Gopal reportedly got into an argument with the two youths. Police said the altercation escalated, during which the duo allegedly assaulted him, knocked him on the ground and repeatedly struck his head and face with a stone before fleeing the spot.Based on preliminary evidence and technical surveillance, police detained two youths from a nearby locality. During questioning, they allegedly admitted their involvement in the crime. The stone used in the murder has been seized, while a scientific team collected forensic evidence from the spot. The body was sent for autopsy.Police said both the accused have previous criminal cases registered against them. Preliminary investigation indicates the crime may have been triggered by a sudden provocation during the altercation. However, investigators are also probing whether any other motive was behind the killing.
