CUTTACK: Nearly three weeks after a woman was found murdered along the banks of Kathajodi river, Commissionerate Police on Saturday said a tattoo on her hand helped crack the blind murder case, leading to identification of the deceased and arrest of the accused.
The deceased was identified as 29-year-old Gauri Bhoi of Narla in Kalahandi district. The accused Jalandhar Bag (36) of Nuapada’s Komna area is her paramour, said police.
Bag was arrested from Putur in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh where he worked as a labourer. Police said he was brought to Cuttack on the day and will be produced in court. The incident had occurred on October 7. Gauri was found bludgeoned to death along the banks of the Kathajodi river near Raja Bagicha under Badambadi police limits.
Briefing mediapersons, police commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said investigation of the case initially faced several hurdles as the victim’s hair was cut and her face smashed with a brick in a bid to conceal her identity. However, a distinctive tattoo ‘Abinash-Gauri’ on the hand of the deceased helped police crack the case.
Singh said a targeted search on social media platforms using the names found in the tattoo led investigators to a Facebook profile bearing the name Abinash Sahu, who was also from Narla area in Kalahandi.
He said, though Gauri was married to Abinash, she was in an extra-marital affair with Bag after the latter went to jail in a dacoity case. “Subsequent coordination with Narla police and verification of additional photographs revealed a matching tattoo on Abinash, which helped establish the identity of the deceased as Gauri Bhoi, his wife. The investigators received clues regarding the accused from Abinash, who is currently behind the bars in connection with a dacoity case,” said Singh.
Singh said Bag and Gauri left Bhawanipatna on September 8 and started living in a rented house in Naugan locality of Jagatsinghpur where he worked as a mason for a month.
DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo said both had a quarrel on October 6 following which he assaulted her mercilessly leading to serious head injuries. “Gauri was admitted to Naugan community health centre (CHC) where doctors advised shifting her to SCB Medical College and Hospital. Accordingly, both reached Cuttack by bus on October 7 noon. However, fearing that she might disclose about the assault before police, Bag murdered her in the evening hours,” said the DCP.
Police said after committing the crime, Bag repeatedly changed his name and location and avoided using mobile phone in a bid to evade arrest. He was, eventually, nabbed from Andhra Pradesh. Further investigation into the matter is underway, said police.