KEONJHAR: Police on Wednesday arrested a 40-year-old man on charges of killing his live-in partner, a lecturer in the local women’s college, in Mining Road area of Keonjhar town.
The accused is Rudra Narayan Mishra, the treasurer of Keonjhar District Truck Owners’ Association. He allegedly murdered Priyanka Dash (28), a resident of Talapada village under Remuna tehsil in Balasore district, on Tuesday. Priyanka was a guest lecturer in the Home Science department of Government Women’s College, Keonjhar.
Police said the accused is a resident of Old Town area but lived with Priyanka in a house near the Odisha School of Mining Engineering campus.
Priyanka’s uncle Hemendra Prasad Dash alleged that her family in Remuna received a call from an unknown number on Tuesday morning. The caller, who claimed to be Priyanka’s colleague, informed them that she accidentally fell down while locking her house and died on the spot.
Family members immediately rushed to Keonjhar district headquarters hospital and found Priyanka’s body there. “We noticed injury marks on her neck. We suspect foul play in her death and believe she has been killed,” he alleged.
Hemendra subsequently lodged a complaint in Keonjhar Town police station demanding strict action against the culprit involved in Priyanka’s death. Basing on the FIR, police registered a case and arrested Rudra.
The body was seized for postmortem. The exact cause of the woman’s death will be ascertained after the autopsy report arrives. The accused is being interrogated to determine the circumstances leading to Priyanka’s death and further investigation is underway, police said.