PHULBANI: Kandhamal police on Thursday claimed to have solved the mystery behind the murder of BJD youth leader Sanjit Mallick by arresting a married woman with whom he allegedly had an illicit affair. Sanjit, the vice-president of Kandhamal BJD’s youth wing, was found dead in the government quarters of a panchayat executive officer (PEO) on December 1. The 31-year-old was the son of Dadaki sarpanch. His wife works as a teacher in Kotpad.
Sadar sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Suprasanna Mallick said the accused woman, identified as Soudamini Mallick (28), was arrested on Wednesday. During interrogation, she confessed to have suffocated Sanjit to death using a pillow as he was allegedly forcing her to keep physical relationship with him by blackmailing her.
Soudamini claimed, the BJD leader was in an illicit relationship with her for the last around two years. Sanjit was reportedly having the relationship against the woman’s will. The affair turned sour when the deceased refused to return the money he had borrowed from her. Sanjit also reportedly threatened to circulate her intimate pictures and videos.
Irked over Sanjit’s repeated threats, Soudamini decided to eliminate him. On November 30, she invited the BJD leader to the PEO’s quarters. Sanjit reportedly arrived at the place drunk and went to sleep in an inebriated condition. Taking advantage of the situation, Soudamini placed a pillow over his face and suffocated him to death.
The SDPO said the accused later took his phone and buried it at an isolated place. During investigation, police received a tip-off and detained Soudamini. On being questioned, she confessed to her crime.Subsequently, police arrested her and recovered Sanjit’s mobile phone which has been sent to the forensic team for verification of call details and chat history, the police officer added.