BERHAMPUR: A woman tried to end her life by consuming poison in front of the Chhatrapur police station in Ganjam district on Tuesday night. She was identified as Jhili Patra of Mahaveer Nagar in Chhatrapur. She consumed poison when a meeting was underway in the police station to resolve her family dispute.
Chhatrapur IIC Satyaranjan Pradhan said Jhili accompanied by her husband Muna Patra had lodged a complaint with police on August 2 alleging torture by her in-laws for dowry. Subsequently, the woman's father-in-law Bhima Patra also filed an FIR claiming that his son and Jhili were torturing him.
The IIC said police recorded statements of both the parties and had fixed the date of counselling on August 23. Accordingly, the counselling session was held in the police station but both the parties refused to settle the matter peacefully. All of a sudden, Jhili came out of the police station and consumed poison. She was rushed to Chhatrapur hospital. Pradhan said a case has been registered against Jhili. Her condition is stable.
Notably, there have been several incidents of complainants trying to end their life before Ganjam police in the past. One Santosh Samantaray set himself on fire in front of the Golanthara police station in April 2022. In May, another Badal Sahu immolated himself in front of the Ganjam SP office. Similarly, One Meenakhi Mishra set herself ablaze on the campus of Berhampur SP office in 2020.