KENDRAPARA: Rajnagar police on Thursday arrested three persons including a father-daughter duo on charges of murdering a 44-year-old man of Kakadia village and dumping his body in nearby Hansua river.
Police said Jamini Swain (27), her father Bhagyadhar Jena (60) and Bigheswar Mallick (34), all from Kakadia, killed Balaram Sethi on November 30.
On December 1, Balaram’s son Bubu Sethi (20) lodged a complaint with police stating that his father went missing from the village on November 30. Acting on the FIR, police launched an investigation and recovered Balaram’s decomposed body from Hansua river on December 8.
IIC of Rajnagar police station Naresh Kumar Sahoo said investigation revealed that Jamini was staying at her parents’ place after her husband deserted her two years back. Balaram befriended her during his frequent visits to their home. Later, they allegedly fell in love. However, their relationship became strained two months back due to some reasons.
Sahoo said subsequently, Balaram started to blackmail Jamini for sexual favours. The woman then hatched a plan to eliminate the victim. She along with her father and Bigheswar killed Balaram with a shovel when he was returning home from a marriage feast on his motorcycle on November 30. After the victim’s death, the accused dumped his body and bike in Hansua river.
During interrogation, the three accused confessed to the crime. They were arrested under sections 103 and 238 of BNS. “We have sent the deceased’s body to Kendrapara district headquarters hospital for postmortem. The exact cause of death will be ascertained after the autopsy report arrives,” the IIC said.
Police have recovered deceased’s bike from the river. The shovel used in the murder has also been seized. Further investigation is underway, he added.