CUTTACK: The sticker ‘New Star Tailors’ stitched on the blood-stained trouser which was recovered from the spot where a woman was found murdered seems to have helped the police to crack the case in record time.
Two days after the woman’s body was recovered from the banks of Kathajodi river near Paramhansa within Kandarpur police limits, police on Sunday arrested three persons including her husband.
The deceased was identified as 35-year-old Padmabati Samal. The accused are her husband Balaram Duhuri (32), his younger brother Jagannath alias Babu and cousin Hapi.
Briefing mediapersons, commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said police used the sticker to contact around 10 tailors with the same name in Odisha but none matched with it. It was then that an unknown person contacted police on WhatsApp informing that such a shop was present at Bhanjanagar in Ganjam, Singh said.
On getting information, Jagannathprasad police in Ganjam traced a shop where its tailor informed that such stickers are used by a tailoring shop at Surat in Gujarat. Basing on the information, Gujarat police were contacted who then tracked down the shop which uses the exact sticker on its customers’ clothes after they are stitched.
“On searching the order register of the shop for number 3,833 as mentioned in the said paper sticker, police found the name ‘Babu’ against the serial number. The tailor informed he had returned Rs 100 to Babu via e-wallet and subsequently, the mobile phone number used for receiving the money was noted. On contacting the said number, it was found to be belonging to Babu’s friend. Eventually, police collected all information regarding Babu from his friend,” Singh said.
Babu’s friend informed he was going back to Surat via train which was to pass through Rayagada. After being intimated, a team led by the Rayagada SDPO then arrested Babu from the train near Muniguda. During interrogation, he confessed to have committed the murder along with his elder brother Balaram and cousin Hapi. Soon after, police arrested the duo, Singh said.
DCP Jagmohan Meena said the trio killed Padmabati as her husband suspected she was having an extra-marital affair.