

CUTTACK: A 30-year-old woman has been booked on charges of killing her husband following a dispute, at Karadibandha village under Badamba police limits.
The deceased was identified as Manoj Mallik, a resident of Alara village under Narasinghpur police limits. The incident occurred on Sunday night by came to light on Monday.
Police said Mallik’s wife Laxmipriya Rout claimed her husband died by suicide. However, his father Basant strongly rejected the claims and alleged his son had been murdered by Laxmipriya following a dispute.
The elderly man accused Laxmipriya of killing Manoj by attacking his private parts. Basing on his complaint, police, who had initially registered an unnatural death case in this connection, converted it into a murder case.
Athagarh SDPO Biswajit Mohanty said Manoj had married Laxmipriya in 2021. “However, following disputes with his brothers, he left his parental house and had been staying at a rented accommodation in his in-laws’ village Karadibandha for the last over four years,” he said.
The SDPO said initial investigation suggested the couple had a quarrel after Laxmipriya rejected the sexual advances made towards her by Manoj. However, the woman claims her husband died by hanging while his father alleges he was brutally murdered by Laxmipriya as there were cut marks on his private parts, he added.
“We are now waiting for the postmortem report which is expected to play a crucial role in determining whether the death was a case of murder or suicide,” said the SDPO.