UMERKOTE: Raighar police on Sunday arrested prime suspect Chandra Raut and his wife Sia Raut on charges of murdering a young tribal woman and peeling off her skin in an attempt to chop her body into pieces in Murumdihi village under Gona panchayat in Nabarangpur district.
Police said 27-year-old Chandra had an extra-marital relationship with the victim Tilabati Gond (21) of Baghbeda village. On Wednesday, Tilabati arrived at Chandra’s house at Murumdihi and asked him to marry her. However, Chandra and his wife killed her and peeled off the skin from different parts of her body. The accused couple also attempted to cut the body into pieces to destroy evidence. They later buried Tilabati’s body in a forest near Murumdihi village. On Saturday, police exhumed the woman’s body after finding blood stains in the forest.
Chandra and Sia were produced in court. On the day, family members of Tilabati and villagers of Baghbeda staged protest at Raighar police station demanding that the accused be hanged. Earlier on Saturday night, villagers of Baghbeda cremated Tilabati’s body in the backyard of Chandra’s house.