ROURKELA: A day after the mysterious murder of a seven-month pregnant woman Samyamayee Behera (33), the Rourkela police on Friday claimed to have cracked the case with the detention of four key suspects, including her husband Deben and his relative, who is an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of police.
The woman was initially suspected to have been shot dead during a bid to loot her house on Wednesday night. Police debunked the loot theory concocted by Deben, a local Panchayat Extension Officer (PEO).
DIG of Police (Western Range) Brijesh Kumar Rai said some suspects have been detained for questioning.
Police are corroborating the statements of the detained persons, other family members present at the house at the time of incident and the driver who drove the woman with a gunshot injury to the hospital, he said.
Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadwani said they have almost solved the murder mystery and collected reliable evidence, adding the investigation is being carried out from all angles. The culprits would be arrested soon, he said.
While police are tight-lipped about the mystery behind the murder, reliable sources claimed her husband’s addiction to gambling might have some connection with the murder.
So far, it appears Deben hatched the plan and executed it with the help of his relative, a police official and two others, the sources said.
Earlier, on Thursday the victim’s parents had alleged before police that Samyamayee was murdered by her in-laws.
The autopsy was conducted at Sundargarh Government Medical College and Hospital and opinion of forensic management experts was also taken.
In the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, unidentified miscreants had allegedly shot dead Samyamayee at the entrance of her in-laws’ house at Jhirdapali of Tikayatpali police limits in Sundargarh district, about 80 km from Rourkela.
Her husband had claimed he, his mother and aunt were sleeping in the house when two to three robbers tried to force open the entrance door. When Samyamayee opened the door, the miscreants snatched her mangalsutra and when she screamed in panic, they shot her dead and fled, he had claimed.
Reports said after the incident, the victim was rushed to Bonai Sub-Divisional Hospital (BSDH) where she was declared brought dead.
Police sources said timelines of the crime narrated by the three other members present at the house lacked coherence.
They pointed out the mismatch in the time of occurrence of the incident as stated by Deben and the neighbours. Deben said it took place at about 12.50 am while people in the immediate neighbourhood claimed they heard the gunshot around 12.20 am and when they came out, no one was found rushing out of the house.
Moreover, police sources said the victim’s body was taken to BSDH at 1.40 am while the distance from the house and the BSDH was a 20-minute drive. After the incident, Deben waited for a driver to take his wife to the hospital although he could drive. Also, no blood stain was found in the vehicle that carried Samyamayee to the hospital, the sources added.
Chhendipada MLA Agasti Behera too demanded a proper investigation into the murder of his cousin Samyamayee.