NAYAGARH : In a shocking revelation, Nayagarh police has charged a 40-year-man with the murder of his two minor sons in Dhanchangada village under Fategarh police limits on Sunday night.
Earlier, the death of two minors on the intervening night of March 9 and 10 was presumed to be suicide as the siblings were found hanging from the staircase ceiling of their home. The theory floated by the family was that the brothers were upset with their father, Prakash Mohanty’s plans for a second marriage.
“Apart from Prakash, we have also arrested his mother Souri Mohanty, about 68 years of age, for her complicity in the crime,” Nayagarh SP S Susree said. The incident has sent shockwaves in the district.
In fact, Prakash was detained by police following a complaint filed by his brother-in-law Laxman Nayak. Police said during interrogation, Prakash allegedly provided inconsistent accounts of the incident which strengthened investigator’s suspicion. He later confessed to killing his minor sons since the eldest one Akash was strongly opposed to his second marriage plans.
As per police, Souri had claimed to have seen her grandchildren in their room before she stepped out of the house early in the morning of March 10 to pluck flowers. Upon her return, she said, she could not find them and immediately informed her husband. The grandparents went around the house and were shocked to see the minors hanging from the asbestos ceiling of the staircase using a saree.
Prakash, on his part, had claimed that he was at his brother-in-law’s under-construction building, located near his house, on Sunday night.
However, investigation revealed that the murder was well planned by the mother-son duo. It was Souri who had held Akash while Prakash strangulated him. Later, using a saree, he hung him from the ceiling to make it appear like a suicide. Both then used the same method to kill the younger child, Bikash (9).
Prakash and his mother were produced before a court. Further investigation is underway.