BERHAMPUR: A man who used to collect electricity meter readings was hacked to death by a villager in Ganjam,
Odisha, on Monday, allegedly over a dispute in the reading, police said.
The accused, Gobind Sethi, aged around 60 years, was admitted to hospital after locals beat him up for attacking Laxmi Narayan Tripathy (52).
Tripathy was a meter reader (business associate) of Tata Power Southern Odisha Distribution Ltd (TPSODL).
He used to collect meter readings.
Police said there was an altercation between Sethi and Tripathy over meter reading, leading to the former attacking him with a sharp-edged weapon. "During preliminary inquiry, the niece (Tuni Sethi) of the accused said there was an argument between him and Tripathy over an inflated electricity bill," said Biswamitra Harpal, sub-divisional police officer, Bhanjanagar.