Woman, 2-year-old daughter found dead in their house in Odisha’s Koraput

Bhubaneswar: A 26-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter were found dead under mysterious circumstances in their house at Lachhamani village under Kakiriguma police limit in Koraput district of Odisha today.

The deceased have been identified as Padma Saunta, wife of Dinabandhu Saunta and their daughter Merry Saunta, villagers said.

On being informed, a police team led by Kakiriguma Inspector In-Charge Damodar Bihari reached the spot and launched a probe into the incident.

The bodies were recovered in the presence of Laxmipur Tehsildar Tapan Kumar Nayak and Laxmipur Inspector In-Charge Swetapadma Seth and sent for postmortem, sources said.

Dinabandhu, meanwhile, claimed that Padma had killed their daughter before ending her life over family dispute.

“Padma used to talk with a youth of our village over phone. We had a quarrel over the issue. I had gone to Kakirguma on a work today morning. I returned home at around 10 am and found that our home was locked from inside. Suspecting something unpleasant, we broke open the door and found Padma and our daughter hanging from the ceiling. We brought down the bodies and informed the incident to police,” Dinesh said.

However, Padma’s mother alleged that Dinbandhu had killed her daughter and granddaughter over family dispute and hanged their bodies to give a suicide angle to the incident.

“Dinabandhu had assaulted Padma last night over some family discord. She had informed me the incident over phone. I had promised her to reach Lachhamani in the morning and do something to solve the dispute. Dinabandhu must have killed Padma and her daughter,” she alleged.

Padma’s father Kamadi Hikaka lodged a complaint in this regard with police.

“We have registered a murder case and sent the bodies for postmortem. A scientific team has visited the spot. We are waiting for postmortem reports to know the exact reasons behind the death of the woman and her daughter,” said Kakiriguma IIC.