Bhubaneswar, Mar 15 (PTI) Four people, including two in Bhubaneswar, were killed during Holi celebrations across Odisha on Saturday, police said.

A youth was murdered at Shantipalli slum under the Saheed Nagar Police Station limits in Bhubaneswar when a group of four people attacked him with knives around noon after an altercation between them during the Holi celebrations, a senior officer said.

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Old enmity between the deceased and the accused could be the reason behind the crime, he said.

"The youth died on the spot. His wife was also attacked but she managed to escape from there," the officer said, adding that the accused fled the scene and CCTV footage was being examined.

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Another person was brutally murdered in Sameigadia area under the jurisdiction of the Mancheswar Police Station in the city, another officer said.

"The person was killed by a group of men following an altercation over some issues during the Holi celebrations," he said.

A contractor was allegedly hacked to death by a sharp object in the Baidyanathpur Police Station area in Ganjam district's Berhampur over past enmity, the police said.

A youth was stabbed to death in Sahoo Colony in Sambalpur during the Holi celebrations, another officer said.

Past enmity is suspected to be the reason behind the murder, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)