Kendrapara: A 20-year-old woman named Puja Das, the daughter of one Dhaneswar Das of Palakana village in Koro GP, hanged herself to death Monday night after the police allegedly failed to act on her family’s complaint regarding harassment by a youth in the name of love.
Sources said Suresh Sethy, a distant relative of Puja from Mahanga, used to trouble her in the name of love even after she had spurned his proposal. The youth used to harass Puja and her family over phone and also threatened her family.
Although Puja’s family approached Nikirai Police they failed to act on the matter.
Later, the family took the matter to the village panchayat which convened a meeting. But instead of delivering justice the panchayat forced Puja’s family to pay a fine of Rs 400 for “the girl’s alleged misbehaviour with the youth over phone”.
“My daughter became depressed and hanged herself from the ceiling fan of her room while we were asleep Monday night,” said Puja’s mother Basanti Das. Nikirai police reached the spot Tuesday and sent the body for autopsy.
When Nikirai Police Station IIC Gunamani Nayak was asked about police inaction on the complaint lodged by Puja’s family, he said no complaint was filed by the family.
An inquiry has been launched into the case, IIC Nayak said.
PNN