BERHAMPUR: An elderly woman was found brutally murdered at the posh Alakapuri locality within Sadar police limits here on Thursday night. She was identified as a 60-year-old Suraja Behera. The woman was found lying in a pool of blood in her house with her throat slit and deep cuts on her body.
Sources said Suraja was staying with her husband Bijay Behera, a retired government employee, at Alakapuri while their son lived in Bhubaneswar. Last month, their son got married and left with his wife to the State Capital a fortnight back.
On Thursday evening, Bijay left home for some work leaving his wife alone in the house. He reportedly called Suraja several times but her cellphone was switched off. Bijay then informed his son about the matter and rushed back home late in the evening.
To his surprise, he found the door locked from outside. Suspecting foul play, he called his neighbours and broke open the door only to find Suraja lying dead in a pool of blood. On being informed, Sadar police rushed to the spot for preliminary investigation. On Friday morning, senior officials along with sniffer dog and a scientific team reached Bijay’s house. Berhampur SP Pinak Mishra too visited the crime scene.
Since the woman’s throat was slit and her body bore deep cuts, it is believed that she was murdered. Police have ruled out the loot angle as all the valuables and cash in the house were safe. However, the cellphone of Suraja was missing.
Sadar police sent the body for postmortem and have registered a murder case. A police officer said the investigation is underway and the mystery behind the woman’s death will be solved soon.