Puri: A hotel owner was allegedly murdered late on Tuesday night in the Baliapanda area of Odisha's Puri town.

The deceased has been identified as Pabitra Nayak, owner of Manorama Hotel in the Baliapanda area. According to preliminary information, Nayak was attacked and stabbed to death by a group of assailants.

Police rushed to the spot after receiving information about the incident. The body was recovered and sent for post-mortem examination. A case has been registered, and an investigation was launched by the Baliapanda police.

Initial investigation suggests that a dispute over some hotel rooms rented out through the OYO platform may have led to the fatal attack. Police said that three to four persons were allegedly involved in the assault and stabbed the hotel owner during the altercation.

Efforts were underway to identify and apprehend the accused persons.

Further investigation was in progress to ascertain the exact motive behind the crime and the sequence of events leading to the murder.

This morning, an accused in the murder, identified as Chandan Kumar Palar, was injured in an encounter with the police and hospitalised.