Odisha cops crack Khurda murder mystery, nab accused transgender

Bhubaneswar: The police today claimed to have solved the mystery behind the murder of an artiste at Shagadabhanga village in Odisha’s Khurda district on January 2.

The police also revealed details regarding accused Somanath Lath and the motive behind the murder of artiste Rashmi Ranjan Baliarsingh.

The police had earlier arrested the accused from Jajpur.

“Rashmi Ranjan and Somanath were known to each other for the last seven years. Both of them were artistes and were performing together in various mythological plays. Accused Somanath is a transgender and he had developed a physical relationship with Rashmi Ranjan,” said a senior official of Khurda police today.

However, the relationship between Somanath and Rashmi Ranjan turned sour due to the latter’s proximity to a woman in last few days, he added.

Somanath had killed Rashmi Ranjan by hitting his head repeatedly with an iron rod while the latter was asleep in his house on January 2. Accused Somanath had managed to escape to Jajpur after committing the crime, police said.

“The accused had gone to Jajpur after leaving his motorcycle at Rameshwar Square. He has confessed to the crime,” said the police officer.

Notably, Rashmi Ranjan’s body was found in a pool of blood in his house in the morning hours of January 2.

The Khurda police had formed a special team to crack the murder case and arrest the accused.