PURI: Puri police on Monday night registered a case against a 42-year-old man for allegedly murdering his elderly mother and burying her body beneath the kitchen floor in their rented accommodation at Masjid Lane in Kumbharpara area.
The accused, believed to be Madan Dalei of Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district, is still at large. Police said, he had been staying in the rented house for the past three months. House owner Manorama Sahu said Madan and her mother had taken a separate portion of her residence on rent three months ago. On Sunday morning, several other tenants complained of a foul smell emanating from Madan’s house.
On being informed, Kumbharpara police reached the spot and found the house locked. They broke open the house, dug up the freshly-plastered kitchen floor and found the elderly woman’s body. Police said though the deceased is yet to be identified, it is suspected that she was Madan’s mother. The body, which was in an advanced stage of decomposition, was sent to the district headquarters hospital for postmortem.
Kumbharpara IIC BK Behera said during inquiry, police learnt that Madan had been missing since August 19. The accused used to sell water bottles near Shree Jagannath Temple.
Police are scanning footage of CCTV cameras installed in the areas around the Srimandir to track Madan’s movements and obtain a clear image of his face for identification.
Police suspect he may have provided a false identity, as he reportedly did not submit any authentic identity proof while taking the house on rent. Sahu reportedly told police that she had recorded his name as ‘Madan Dalei, Paralakhemundi, Gajapati district’ on a plain sheet of paper.
Police have asked the cyber cell to examine the call records of the mobile number used by Madan and trace the numbers he contacted to establish his identity. The SIM card was reportedly obtained using an address on Red Cross Road in Puri.
The IIC said Madan was last seen at Puri railway station on August 21. It is suspected that he may have fled Puri town. Puri SP Prateek Singh has formed a special team to trace and nab Madan.
