BHUBANESWAR/BERHAMPUR: The body of a 17-year-old girl found buried in a forested area of Kandhamal district, 147 km away from her home in Nayagarh, has sent the police on the trail of what is presumed to be a case of honour killing.
The minor’s body was exhumed by a team of Nayagarh police from near a village under Phiringia police limits of Kandhamal and sent for post-mortem in the wee hours of Saturday. The victim was a resident of Sorada village under Nuagaon police limits.
Police suo motu registered a case of murder and have begun an investigation. Police suspect the girl may have been murdered over her relationship with a youth. It formed multiple teams and rounded up three relatives of the victim when they reportedly returned after burying her body in Kandhamal. The three then led the cops to Taladandikia village under Phiringia police limits in Kandhamal district and the girl’s body was exhumed in the presence of a scientific team.
Sources said the family members of the girl had locked up their house and were absconding since Friday afternoon. “Multiple teams launched a search operation under the supervision of Nayagarh SDPO. The body was exhumed on time and it was not in a decomposed state. The victim’s postmortem report will reveal the reason behind her death but on local police’s complaint, a murder case has been registered,” said a senior officer.
On Friday, when neighbours asked the girl’s father Biprabara Nayak about her whereabouts, he reportedly avoided their questions. This made the neighbours suspicious who then informed the police. Police said Nayak is absconding after the incident.
A case has been registered under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The girl’s uncle and two cousins have been detained and efforts are on to nab her father. A thorough probe has been launched, said a senior police officer.