KENDRAPARA: A 40-year-old woman allegedly strangled her alcoholic husband to death in his sleep with the help of their son and minor daughter at Malapatana village under Aul police limits here.
Police on Friday arrested Manorama Sahoo, her son Srikrishna (22) and 16-year-old daughter on charges of murdering Niranjan Sahoo (44). The crime took place on Wednesday night.
According to police, the accused throttled Niranjan to death while he was asleep. Prima facie, asphyxiation is suspected to be the cause of death. IIC of Aul police station Antrajami Srichandan said preliminary investigation revealed that Manorama and Srikrishna were earning money by cleaning utensils in a hotel. Niranjan was allegedly harassing his wife and son for money to consume alcohol.
He reportedly used to beat them if they did not give him money. Unable to bear his torture, the woman and her two children killed Niranjan, said the IIC.
Police said Niranjan was a drunkard and did not look after the needs of his wife and two children. He also allegedly treated them with utmost cruelty. On Wednesday night, he reportedly assaulted Manorama in an inebriated state following which the trio killed him.
On being informed about the murder, police rushed to Malapatana village on Thursday for investigation. A blood-stained bedsheet was seized from the deceased’s house.
Srichandan said the three accused confessed to their crime following which they were arrested under section 103 (murder) of the BNS. The body was sent to Kendrapara district headquarters hospital for postmortem. The exact cause of death will be ascertained after the autopsy report is out.
Both the adult accused were forwarded to court and remanded in judicial custody. The minor girl was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) and sent to the observation home in Angul. Further investigation is underway, the IIC added.
