Wife, not Maoists, killed Maniaka: IG

OST Bureau
Koraput, Jan 23:

In a startling revelation,South Western Range IG Yeswant Kumar Jethwa on Thursday said the murder of Komulu Maniaka in Odiapentha village near Narayanpatna on the night of January 12 was not an act of Maoists, but his own wife.
“We have arrested Maniaka’s wife and have also seized the axe with which she hacked her husband. She has confessed that she killed her husband due to some dispute with him,” he said addressing a press meet here today.
“The incident just goes to show that not every murder can be attributed to the Maoists,” the IG said.
It may be mentioned here that the day after the murder, Maniaka’s wife had claimed that about 15-20 Maoists had barged into their house from the back side around 9 pm the previous nightand hadhacked her husband to death with an axe.
She had also said that the assailants had switched off the lights of the house and paid no heed to her pleadings to spare her husband, while adding that the intruders had come in Maoist outfits.
However, contrary to the standard practice of the Maoists, they had left behind no letter/poster at the spot claiming responsibility for the murder, which led the police to suspect the wife’s version.