India, March 15 -- The festival of Holi, meant to spread colours of joy, took a dark turn in Odisha as five murders were reported from different parts of the state, including two in the capital city Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

Despite several effective measures taken by the police to maintain the law and order situation during Holi festivity, the brutal murders have raised serious questions over the effectiveness of policing.

Twin Murders Rock Bhubaneswar The Smart City Bhubaneswar reported two murder cases during Holi celebration. A youth, identified as Gopi Guli, was stabbed to death at Shantipalli slum near Sahid Nagar.

According to sources, Guli had an altercation with four youths. The verbal brawl soon took an ugly turn and miscrean...