BHUBANESWAR: Four people were on Wednesday detained for brutally assaulting and murdering a widow, in what is suspected to be an act of revenge, in Kankadahada block here.
The police are verifying call records of a mobile phone recovered from the crime scene. One of the accused, Bhajana, had recently been involved in a dispute with the victim a week ago.
“Preliminary evidence suggests that she was sexually assaulted. The police are waiting for the autopsy report to confirm the rape, following which additional charges will be pressed against the accused,” said Dhenkanal SP Basant Panigrahi.
The victim, was gang-raped and murdered by a group of miscreants at Balikuma village, on the intervening night of June 12 and 13.
She was brutally assaulted with an iron rod and cooking utensils which were inserted into her private parts. She bled profusely for around half-an-hour and succumbed on her way to a nearby primary health care centre.
According to police, Bhajana was attracted to Patra’s niece who lived with her in a tribal village in Kankadahada. Around 15-days ago, he had tried to force himself on the niece at her house.
The deceased widow brought up the issue in a tribal court which ruled that Bhajana should marry Patra’s niece.
“There is a possibility that this decision could have instigated Bhajana to take the gory step. Some of his associates who took a lead to support him at the village court are also under the scanner,” Basant Panigrahi said.
The victim was widowed three years ago, and lived separately from her sons.
On the basis of a report filed by the deceased's elder son, police have registered a case under Section 302 (murder), 450 (house trespass to commit offence) and 34 of the IPC.