BALANGIR/BHUBANESWAR: The half-naked decomposed body of an unidentified woman was recovered from a cotton field near Goyalpita village under Bandhpada police limits in Deogaon block here on Wednesday.
Police said the woman is believed to be in her late twenties. Her body was partially naked and face disfigured with burns. Broken bangles and a saree were found near the body.
According to sources, some goat herders first spotted the body in the field at around 9 am and raised an alarm. On being informed, police rushed to the spot for investigation and questioned some villagers. A scientific team also reached the scene to collect evidence.
Locals suspected that the woman was raped and murdered. The culprits burnt the face to prevent her identification and erase evidence, they claimed. However, police said investigation is on to ascertain the cause of death.
Officer in-charge of Bandhpada police outpost Malay Panda said it is believed that the woman died around five to seven days back. The body was seized and sent to Balangir district headquarters hospital for postmortem. The exact reason of death will be ascertained after autopsy report arrives.
Balangir sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Saroj Kumar Upadhyaya said an unnatural death case has been registered in this connection.
Police stations of nearby areas have been alerted about the body. Efforts are on to identify the woman and determine the circumstances leading to her death. Further investigation is underway.
Meanwhile, the BJD attacked the state government over the incident, alleging that Odisha has become unsafe for women. BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the incident has again exposed the fact that there is no law and order in Odisha. The government should act immediately to ensure that such incidents do not recur.
Alleging that crimes against women have increased during the rule of the BJP’s double-engine government, Mohanty said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi while replying to a question in the Assembly had admitted that 3,000 cases of rape were reported in the last 16 months.
