Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Nayagarh, Jan 11:

Police have arrested a 25 year-old Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) jawan for his alleged complicity in the murder of his 20 year-old wife. The cops are also searching for his two accomplices involved in the crime.

pic: thestatesman.com pic: thestatesman.com

Four days after the incident, police claimed to have cracked the mystery with the arrest of Anil, the husband of deceased Subhadra Swain.

Anil with the help of two of his accomplices from Phulbani has killed her by strangulating her. They tried to make it appear as a case of robbery, a police official said.

According to Nayagarh SP Manoranjan Mohanty, Anil has been working as an IRB jawan for the last 9 years. He has been transferred to 8th Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) in Phulbani two years ago.

After his father’s death, the family shifted to Arabindanagar under Nayagarh town police station limits.  During that time, he had fallen in love with a girl from Phulbani studying in high school there.

But family pressure had forced him to marry Subhadra, a year ago. After few months of marriage, Subhadra, daughter of Shyamsundar Swain from Panibhandhar village under Udanga block in Kajaliapali panchyat, came to know about his lover and used to fight with Anil over this.

Unable to get over his past, he made up his mind to eliminate her. On January 6, he took his wife to his in-laws place and also visited their home at Kesarpur. In the evening he asked his wife to accompany him to his uncle’s house. While driving to his uncle’s house on the Jamujhola - Kantabania road, two of his waiting friends waylaid them. The trio then dragged Subhadra to a nearby field and strangled her to death. Two of his friends, took off with all her jewellary and had then tied up Anil with wires and left him there so that it would appear as a case of robbery.

He was rescued by villagers, who informed the police about the incident. Subhdra’s father had later accused him of murder. On this basis police had detained Anil for questioning, during interrogation, he confessed to have committed the crime.

Police produced Anil before the local court yesterday and have formed a special team to arrest the two others involved in the crime.