KEONJHAR: In a shocking incident, a former sarpanch and her husband were brutally murdered before being dumped in a well in K Balipal panchayat in the district. The couple’s bodies were found in the well on Thursday morning after bloodstains led locals to the spot.
Forty-year-old Rambhamani Patra served as sarpanch of K Balipal gram panchayat while her husband Niranjan Patra, 50, was a gram rakshi at Boula outpost. The GP, about 140 km from the Keonjhar town, is located at a remote part of the district under Soso police limits. It is situated inside Hadagarh reservoir and people have to take boats to travel.
Police sources said, the couple was untraceable for the last two days. It is believed that the murderers entered their home on Tuesday night and carried out the heinous act before dumping their bodies in the well.
When the two did not show up for about two days, people in the neighbourhood got suspicious and launched a search. Some of them apparently found bloodstains which led them to the well where the decomposed bodies of the couple were found. After the news spread, Anandpur SDPO Prashanta Kumar Behera and Soso inspector Hrushikesh Behera rushed to the spot.
Locals said the former sarpanch and her husband were popular and helped solve many problems in their area. They enjoyed good support in K Balipal panchayat. Given its remote location, the panchayat faced development issues. It is about 60 km from Anandpur subdivision headquarters.
Police sent the bodies for postmortem and launched an investigation. “The matter is under probe but no one has been arrested yet,” SDPO Behera said.