SAMBALPUR: Sambalpur police on Monday arrested two women for allegedly drugging another woman and looting her jewellery under Dhanupali police limits in the district.
The accused have been identified as Manjulata Padhi (50), a resident of Govindtola under Dhanupali police limits and her niece Anukanti Mishra (30) of village Sankara under Binka police limits in Sonepur.
According to police, on March 16, at around 10.30 am, one Manorama Acharya (75) went out to buy fruits from a shop situated in front of Sati Rani temple in Dhanupali area but did not return till evening.
Five hours later, her family members went searching only to find her unconscious near the temple. The jewellery she was wearing including a pair of gold earrings, bangles, and a gold chain was missing from her body. Similarly, the priest of the temple was also found lying nearby in an unconscious state.
While Manorama was rushed to the hospital for treatment, her family members lodged a complaint with Dhanupali police.
During preliminary investigation, the prime accused, Manjulata, who happens to be the wife of the priest, and her niece Anukanti informed that a devotee had offered ‘prasad’ to her husband and Manorama at the temple and perhaps after consuming that they might have lost sense.
Immediately a police team was formed under the supervision of SDPO, Tophan Bag to probe the case. During the investigation, police detained Manjulata and her niece and interrogated them. The team found that they knew about Manorama’s visits to the temple and planned the loot. On the day of the incident, they introduced themselves to Manorama and took her to their house near the temple. There they offered her coconut water spiked with drugs due to which Manorama became unconscious and they looted her ornaments, police said. To avoid being suspected, the prime accused also drugged her husband. Subsequently, they confessed to their crime and were arrested.
SDPO Tophan Bag said, “The accused duo has been booked under various sections of the IPC. We are now trying to ascertain if they have committed similar crimes in the past.”