Man detained for alleged murder of wife in Odisha capital

Reported by Santosh Jadgev
Bhubaneswar, June 28:

Commissionerate Police today detained a man and his brother for allegedly killing his 25-year-old wife at Patnasahi village near Kapileswar under Lingaraj police limits in the Odisha capital.

Police have sent the body to Capital Hospital for post-mortem.

The deceased, identified as Subhadra Swain, is survived by a one-year-old boy. She had married to Chandu Rout, a milkman. The family was staying in Kapileswar area since 2013.

The parents of the deceased have lodged a complaint at Lingaraj police station alleging that Chandu and his family members have killed Subhadra for dowry.

Stating that the couple had frequent quarrels, Inspector in-charge (IIC) of Lingaraj police station Janardan Padhi said the deceased had complained to her parents about being tortured by her husband’s family members.

“We are waiting for the post-mortem report and would make a thorough investigation into it,” he said.

However, Chandu said his wife had committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan in his absence. He said he rushed to his home after receiving a call from his neighbour and broke the door open to see his wife hanging from the ceiling.

“She was still struggling when I entered the room. I brought her down and took her to a nearby hospital, but she died on the way,” Rout said in his statement to police.

A forensic team that reached the crime scene was unable to establish whether the deceased had used a rope or a saree to commit suicide.

“We also didn’t see the body and the crime scene did not give us a clue about how the body was hanging,” a member of the forensic team said.

“Dust patterns on the bed indicate that someone had climbed it. Probably the woman climbed the bed to hang herself from the ceiling, but we are not sure,” the IIC said.

Police have registered a case under Section 304 (b) (dowry death), 498 (A) (cruelty by husband) and 34 (act done by many) of IPC.