Odisha man held from Maharashtra a decade after killing his 3-year-old daughter over marital discord

Bhubaneswar: The Crime Branch of Odisha Police today claimed to have arrested a man of Keonjhar district from Thane in Maharashtra around 10 years after he killed his three-year-old daughter by throwing her into Baitarani river over marital discord.

The accused has been identified as Prasant Sahani of Fakirpada in Keonjhar district.

As per the case records, Prasant had tied the knot with Pooja in 2010. Prasant was then working as a fireman in a factory at Thane in Maharashtra. The couple was blessed with a girl child in 2011.

The couple got engaged in a bitter altercation over some marital issues at Fakirpada on August 18, 2013.

In a fit of rage, Prasant took his daughter to the nearby Baitarani river on a bicycle and threw her into the water before fleeing the spot.

Pooja had lodged a complaint in this regard with police on August 20, 2013.

The accused changed his whereabouts and attires several times to evade arrest.

Anandapur police in Keonjhar district initially probed the case.

The Crime Branch took over the investigation as per the direction of Orissa High Court on August 28, 2014.

A team of the Crime Branch had raided several places across India including Bilaspur, Raipur, Pune, Koregaon Bhima, Sikrapur and Rajangaon but could not trace the accused.

The Crime Branch recently traced the accused to Murbad in Thane. A special team of the Crime Branch reached Maharashtra on June 28 and captured the accused the next day.

“The accused was brought to Cuttack and he confessed to the crime during interrogation. He will be produced in the court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) tomorrow,” said a senior official of the Crime Branch.