The Commissionerate police on Monday cracked the murder of a youth over a love triangle in the Chintamaniswar area in the capital city with the arrest of a couple who were absconding after the crime.

The Laxmisagar police arrested Kanha Pradhan alias Pinku and Niharika from the Salia Sahi slum here for the murder of Anjan Behera. A blood-stained weapon was recovered from their possession. A hunt was on to nab four others who were involved in the crime, said city DCP Prateek Singh.

“The couple had hatched a conspiracy to threaten one Goutam, who approached Niharika for love, with a lethal weapon,” he said.

Anjan was hacked to death at Chintamaniswar on March 16 night over the love triangle. Based on a complaint by Anjan’s mother at the Laxmisagar police station, an investigation started into the murder case.

During the investigation, police found that Anjan was working with a catering company. Goutam, who was his colleague, was in love with Niharika, a Plus Three second year student at the Ekamra College in the city, from schooldays.

However, it was a one-side love as Niharika was the girlfriend of Kanha and she never responded to Goutam, who had been approaching her on various social media platforms.

On March 15, Niharika had been to college for examination. While she was returning after the examination, Goutam allegedly stopped her way and approached her again that resulted in argument between the two. Niharika, who was in love with Kanha, told him about the incident. Reacting to the incident, Kanha called Goutam for a meeting.

The DCP said, “On the fateful night, Goutam and his friends Anjan, Subash and Deepak Pradhan were returning from work in Jatni. Kanha, Niharika and four others stopped them on the road in Chintamaniswar. They indulged into argument with Goutam. When Anjan tried to stop it, Kanha attacked him with a sharp weapon. With severe injuries in his shoulders, Anjan fell on the ground and others fled from the spot. The victim was rushed to hospital where he died due to excessive bleeding.”

A special team was formed to trace all accused persons. The investigation revealed that Kanha was earlier arrested in two burglary cases.