BARIPADA: Mystery shrouds the death of a woman and her 13-year-old physically-challenged daughter whose decomposed bodies were found in Dibyasinghpur village under Udala police limits in Mayurbhanj district on Tuesday morning.
The deceased were identified as 50-year-old Phulamani Hembram and her daughter Sakura Hembram. Locals suspect their deaths may be linked to a dispute between Phulamani and some villagers which took place a few months back.
Police said the woman and her daughter lived near a canal on the outskirts of Dibyasinghpur with little contact with villagers. Phulamani had strained relations with her husband Bhagia Murmu (58) who lived separately at another place.
On Tuesday morning, passersby spotted Sakura’s decomposed body lying near the canal near Phulamani’s house and raised an alarm. On being informed, villagers and Udala police reached the spot and recovered the body. A foul smell was also emanating from Phulamani’s house situated a few metre from the canal. Police along with villagers rushed to the house and found the decomposed body of Phulamani on her bed inside a mosquito net.
Police seized both the bodies and sent those to Udala sub-divisional hospital for postmortem. Later, a scientific team from Baripada reached the spot to assist in the investigation. Police said the mother-daughter duo died around a week ago.
Locals suspected that some miscreants might have killed Phulamani and Sakura, and later thrown the girl’s body near the canal. Their deaths went unnoticed as the woman’s house is situated on the edge of the village.
Sources said three months ago, Phulamani had a fight with some villagers over her pet dog which reportedly used to bite domestic animals frequently. The villagers also allegedly assaulted the woman over the issue following which she lodged a complaint in Udala police station. The dispute was later resolved in presence of police.
Udala IIC Banamali Barik said the postmortem report will reveal the exact cause of the deaths. Police have initially registered an unnatural death case. Investigation is underway from all angles.