Post news network
Bhubaneswar: An elderly doctor couple was found murdered at their residence Sunday morning.
The retired doctor couple was identified as Prafulla Mishra (73), a retired ophthalmologist, and his wife Sushma Mishra (73), a gynecologist. The couple was found murdered at their house (VIM-608) in Sailashree Vihar.
The incident reportedly took place in the wee hours of Sunday morning while the elderly couple was alone in their home.
According to Chandrasekharapur police, Sushma was hit by a hard object on her head which led to her death on the spot, and Prafulla was strangulated to death.
The locals said Sushma used to visit a nearby temple every morning.
Police said anti-social elements might have entered the house of the couple after Sushma returned from the temple.
Twin city police commissioner RP Sharma, Bhubaneswar DCP Satyabrata Bhoi and Chandrasekharpur police station officials rushed to the spot to investigate the matter. A forensic team along with sniffer dogs also reached the spot.
“According to preliminary investigations, more than two miscreants might have entered the doctor couple’s house through the main gate. Sushma had returned from temple by 5:30am. She then might have gone to the kitchen when the miscreants attacked her in their bid to loot and they had a scuffle which later shifted to another part of the house. Consequently, the desperadoes might have hit her head with a hard object after which she died. Her husband, who was possibly asleep at that time, was strangulated by the miscreants,” Sharma told Orissa POST.
“All electronic items were intact when we reached the spot. The imitation jewellery which the couple had was not stolen. The miscreants had searched the cupboards in the house to find valuables and money but failed to find cash since the victims had deposited their money in their bank,” he said.
“Chandrasekharpur police have registered a case (461/15) in this regard. We will be able to precisely ascertain facts after we get the postmortem report. We are trying to trace the miscreants,” the police commissioner added. The couple is survived by three sons and two daughters. While one of their sons is in Singapore, their other two sons are staying in the same area.
Incidentally, November 15 was Sushma’s birthday and one of her daughters got suspicious when she did not receive her phone call. She then called her brother to check if their parents were fine.
Sources further said the couple had three maid servants. The relatives of the victims, ironically, have no knowledge about the servants’ details.
The police have constituted three teams to probe the matter and have detained one of the maids, they added.
The relatives of the deceased suspect that some known persons might have been behind the heinous act.
The incident comes couple of months after the Commissionerate police stopped issuing senior citizen cards in the capital city sighting ‘manpower shortage’.
Meanwhile, the enraged locals have questioned the efficiency of Commissionerate police in providing security to elderly people.
“Several senior citizens are residing in the area, but the police have failed to ensure their safety’’, a local said.
