JAGATSINGHPUR: In a shocking turn of events, the death of a widow and her three children, which was registered by police as suicide, was proved as murder. The crime was committed by her father to usurp the compensation paid by the company to the woman whose husband had died on the job.
The bodies of the widow, 35-year-old Mamina Sethy, her minor children including a son and two daughters were found floating in river Mahanadi in Kujang by the locals on last Monday. On being informed, the police recovered the bodies from the river and registered an unnatural death case.Speaking to mediapersons on Tuesday, Additional Superintendent of Police Biswanath Mishra said after the deceased widow’s maternal uncle lodged an FIR at Kujang police station alleging that Mamina was murdered, police registered the case on Sunday. During investigation, witnesses told the police about possible involvement of Mamina’s father Akshaya Sethy in the case.
On the basis of witnesses’ statements, police detained Akshaya and his son Kalia. After two days of rigorous interrogation, Akshaya admitted to have committed the crime. He said first he pressed their mouth and nose till they lost consciousness and then threw them into Mahanadi river. The purpose of murder was to grab the compensation money paid to Mamina, he said.
Following the death of Mamina’s husband Anant Sethy, a contractual worker in Iffco in an accident on April 3, the company had promised to pay a compensation of `3.5 lakh. Though Iffco had deposited the money in Mamina’s bank account, she was unaware of it. Because her father, who was managing her bank transaction for her ignorance, had not informed her. Taking advantage of her ignorance, Akshaya wanted to take the whole amount and killed her and her children, police said.