BHUBANESWAR: Police on Wednesday arrested three persons in connection with the brutal murder of a 35-year-old woman in Nayagarh district on August 10.
The victim, whose husband died about two years ago, was living with her two children in Bhapur village under Fategarh police station limits. According to police, one of the accused, Manoj Kumar Behera (30) of Baideswar in Cuttack district, a relative of the woman, was in a relationship with her. He had introduced his close friend, Santosh Rout (30), also from Baideswar, to her. Without Behera’s knowledge, Rout also reportedly began a relationship with the woman. The third accused, Prakash Khatua (19), is Behera’s associate and co-worker.
On the night of August 10, Behera and Khatua went to the woman’s house and found Rout there. A heated argument broke out between the trio, during which Behera fetched a knife from the kitchen. While Rout and Khatua held the woman, Behera slit her throat, police said.
The woman’s screams woke her two children, prompting the accused to flee. Following a complaint filed by a relative of the woman, police launched a probe, arrested the three accused and recovered the murder weapon, which had been discarded in a bush.