JAGATSINGHPUR: Mystery shrouds the death of a 30-year-old woman whose partially-naked body was found hanging from a tree near Devi Dola village within Naugaon police limits here on Sunday.
The deceased was identified as Banita Sahoo of Chhatiana village. Banita was married to Nabaghan Sahoo of Chaulabasta village within Nimapara police limits in Puri district, around five years ago.
Sources said Banita left her in-laws’ house with her four-year-old son on Saturday. While the boy returned home around half an hour later, Banita was nowhere to be seen. The boy reportedly told the family that his mother dropped him off at the edge of the village and instructed him to go home.
When Banita did not return till late in the evening, her in-laws informed her family that she was missing. Following a search, Banita’s uncle Rabindra Sahoo filed a missing person’s complaint in the local police station.
On Sunday morning, a passerby spotted a woman’s body hanging from a tree in a secluded area near Devi Dola village, located over 20 km from Chaulabasta, and alerted the police. On being informed, Banita’s family members rushed to the spot and identified her body. Sources said the woman was partially naked and her legs were touching the ground.
Suspecting foul play in her death, Rabindra said Banita was murdered and her body hanged afterward to make it look like suicide. He filed a complaint with police alleging that Banita was facing physical and mental harassment from her in-laws over dowry. Despite repeated interventions by her family, the torture continued. Banita’s in-laws murdered her for dowry and framed it as suicide, he alleged.
Naugaon IIC Pradipta Kumar Kanungo said, “We have registered an unnatural death case and advised the family to file a dowry death FIR in Nimapara police station. The body was sent to the hospital for postmortem. The exact cause of death will be ascertained after the autopsy report is released. Further investigation is underway.”