KEONJHAR: Barbil police on Sunday exhumed the skeletal remains of a 21-year-old woman from Siddhamatha reserve forest, 26 days after she was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend.
The deceased was identified as Anita Mahakud of Dumbi Sahi village under Bhadrasahi panchayat. She had been missing since May 11. Anita reportedly left home without her mobile phone. Her family found that the last call received on Anita’s mobile phone had come from her boyfriend Sahaja Alda (26).
On being questioned, Sahaja reportedly claimed he knew nothing about her whereabouts. After Anita remained untraceable for three days, her mother lodged a missing person complaint at Barbil police station. The family later approached the Keonjhar SP, alleging inaction by the local police.
The case took a dramatic turn after police intensified their investigation and detained Sahaja on Saturday. During interrogation, he reportedly confessed to the murder and was arrested on Sunday.
Acting on his confession, investigators recovered Anita’s skeletal remains from a pit inside the forest, around 5 km from the murder site. The recovery was carried out in the presence of executive magistrate and tehsildar Rakesh Kumar Panda.
Police said Anita and Sahaja had been in a relationship for several years. However, Sahaja reportedly suspected that Anita had become involved with another man after seeing her social media posts. On May 11, Sahaja reportedly called Anita to meet him near a football field, about half a kilometre from their village. He allegedly attacked her with a sharp knife, repeatedly stabbing her in the neck, resulting in her death.
The accused initially left the body at the scene before returning later that night. In an attempt to destroy evidence, he allegedly disposed of his blood-stained clothes near a dam and transported Anita’s body on his motorcycle to the forest. There, he buried the body in a pit and discarded her belongings and the murder weapon in another pit.
Police seized the motorcycle allegedly used in the crime from the accused’s residence and recovered Anita’s scarf, slippers, a sharp weapon, and other incriminating materials hidden in the forest.
The accused was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody, said police.