CUTTACK: The gruesome death of four persons, including one woman and three children, in a fire at CDA Sector-8 on Thursday night turns out to be a pre-planned murder even as the killer Anadi Sahu and his daughter succumbed to their injuries on Friday morning.
Anadi Sahu had decided to wipe out his entire family along with himself and gave shape to his plans on Thursday night. While the immediate provocation is yet to be ascertained, police said Anadi doused the family members, including his daughter Anita, niece Kuna, two-year-old grandnephew and two grandnieces and himself with petrol and set them ablaze.
He had allegedly bolted the door from inside and carried out the act in cold blood. As four were charred to death inside the House, Anadi and daughter Anita were found alive and rushed to the SCB Medical College and Hospital with serious burn injuries. Anadi’s son Arun (24), who was not present at the house, is the only family member to have escaped.
Even as both succumbed on Friday morning, taking the death toll to six, police managed to get a dying declaration from Anita, where she is stated to have accused her father of pouring petrol on them and setting the fire. Police have also recovered a six-page note from the house, purportedly written by Anadi, where he has penned his intention to kill everyone, including himself.
City DCP Sanjeev Arora told mediapersons on Friday the dying statement, the handwritten note and the statement of son Arun have all pointed towards Anadi. There was an existing dispute in the family over Anadi’s second marriage about 10 years back.
He had married about 10 years back after his first wife died. However, his marriage was not accepted by her family members and relatives. He wanted to bring his second wife, who lives in Banarapal in Angul district, to Cuttack but was thwarted by the family.
Police said his niece Kuna, along with her three children, had come to Cuttack for Balijatra and had been staying with them since November 25. On Thursday evening, there was allegedly some spat between Anadi and Anita over the same matter where Kuna could also have joined in. An enraged Anadi then took the extreme step of killing everyone.
“What transpired in the house at the time is not clear. But by all indications and evidences, Anadi had set everyone ablaze, including himself”, ACP Satyanarayan Behera said.