NUAPADA: Police on Wednesday, August 11, 2021, solved the murder case of a woman dhaba owner by arresting her son-in-law and three other persons. The woman, Basanti Meher, was shot dead by two miscreants at her dhaba in Duajhar village within Khariar police limits on July 31. Nuapada SP Pratyush Diwakar said two teams were formed, each led by Khariar SDPO Santak Jena and IIC Kailash Sethi to probe the murder. During the investigation, it was found that the woman was killed due to a family dispute.
The murder plan was hatched by the woman’s son-in-law along with his elder brother and a friend. The trio had hired two supari killers from Burla and offered them Rs 6 lakh to murder Basanti. The son-in-law paid Rs 2 lakh in advance to the killers while his friend gave them a country-made pistol. The trio was present near the crime scene and even guided the supari killers to escape from the spot. The SP said the son-in-law, his brother and friend besides a supari killer have been arrested but refused to divulge their names as the case is still under investigation. Police have seized Rs 90,000 of the supari money besides mobile phones and motorcycles.
On July 31 night, two unidentified miscreants arrived at Basanti’s dhaba and asked for food. Subsequently, they picked up a quarrel with the woman and one of them shot her. While the two killers fled, the eatery staff rushed Basanti to Khariar sub-divisional hospital but the doctors declared her brought dead. Following the incident, Basanti’s family members alleged that the woman had a dispute with her son-in-law over family issues. The son-in-law had demanded money from her several times and frequently created nuisance at her dhaba.