Bhubaneswar, Jan. 20 -- Berhampur: A couple of weeks after the gruesome murder of BJP leader Kulamani Baral in Cuttack, a former block chairman of Beguniapada in Ganjam district was shot dead by unidentified miscreants on Wednesday.

Three bike-borne miscreants reportedly opened fire at the former block chairman Debaraj Sahoo at Sumandal Chhak. Sahoo succumbed to the bullet injuries on the spot, informed Berhampur SP.

Meanwhile, locals alleged that it's a planned murder. As the panchayat election is on the cards, Sahoo might have been eliminated, said a local.

Sahoo was block chairman between 2007 and 2012, and also active in politics. Hence, a murder conspiracy might have hatched against him to settle political scores, alleged another ...