Nayagarh: Four members of a family including two children were killed by unidentified assailants at a village in Odisha's Nayagarh district, the police said on Sunday.
"Bodies of the victims, Kasinath Patra (65), his daughter-in-law Suchitra, her son Niti Sagar (9) and daughter Sagarika (6), were found in a pool of blood in their house at Chandpur in Ranpur area last night," Inspector-in-Charge of Ranapur police station C S Mohanty said.
According to preliminary reports, the incident took place when Kasinath's son Sarat Patra was away as he works in a hotel in Bhubaneswar, he said.
The incident came to light when Sarat returned home in the night after work but found the door locked and got no response from inside. After managing to enter the house from the rear, he witnessed the gory scene, Mohanty said.
"Senior police officers rushed to the spot and no one has been arrested so far. Forensic experts and sniffer dogs were also sent to the site as part of investigation," he said.
"The exact reason behind the crime was yet to be ascertained though robbery is suspected to be the motive as house was found ransacked. However, the police are probing from all possible angles including past enmity," he said.
