PURI: Police have identified the elderly woman whose body was found buried beneath the kitchen floor of a rented house at Masjid Lane in Puri’s Kumbharpara area around a week ago.
Puri SP Prateek Singh on Tuesday said the deceased is Arnapurna Dalei, a resident of Kharada village under Kasipur police limits in Gajapati district. It is suspected that the woman was killed by her 42-year-old son Madan Dalei who is on the run after allegedly committing the crime.
Singh said investigation revealed that Arnapurna had two sons, with Madan being the younger. Madan, who is married and has a child, reportedly quarrelled with his elder brother frequently. The accused had left Kharada village with his mother around six months ago and moved to Puri.
The duo initially stayed in a rented house in Sarvoday Nagar before shifting to Kumbharpara. Madan and Arnapurna rented the house of one Manorama Sahu in Kumbharpara around three months ago. The accused was selling water bottles near the Shree Jagannath Temple, said the SP.
Arnapurna’s decomposed body was discovered on August 24 after other tenants complained of a foul smell emanating from the house rented by the accused. Police registered a murder case against Madan, obtained his photograph from CCTV footage and shared it with Gajapati police after learning that he had provided a Paralakhemundi address and a phone number while renting the house of Manorama.
Gajapati police circulated his photograph among all police stations in the district. Subsequently, Kasinagar police traced his ancestral house in Kharada village. Arnapurna’s nephew was brought to Puri, where he identified Arnapurna’s body, said Singh.
Police said the mystery behind Arnapurna’s death would be unravelled after the arrest of Madan who has been absconding since August 19. A manhunt has ben launched to nab the accused.
