Kuanrmunda: An Anganwadi assistant was stabbed to death by her lover Friday evening under the Kuanrmunda police outpost of Sundargarh district, police said.
The victim was identified as Sikha Swapna Kullu, 36, of Gobira Girjatola area. The accused, identified as the deceased’s lover Mukesh Kullu, 37, of Kerketta area under Bisra police limits, was arrested Saturday. He will be produced before a court Sunday, said Biramitrapur IIC Ram Prasad Nag.
Sources said the victim was attacked near her home in the Gobira Girjatola area. Police and a scientific team visited the crime scene and seized the knife used in the murder. A case (17/26) has been registered at Biramitrapur police station.
According to police, the accused told investigators he opposed Sikha’s marriage to another man and committed the crime to stop it. The accused had been living in Jhirpani area of Rourkela and was in a relationship with Sikha. Mukesh first lodged a complaint at a local church to stop the marriage, but his request was turned down as his allegations were found to be baseless. The marriage was scheduled to be held Monday. Frustrated, he allegedly planned the attack to foil the marriage.
On Friday evening, police said, the accused waited near Sikha’s house, lured her a short distance away and stabbed her in the abdomen before fleeing. Family members rushed her to the Kuanrmunda community health centre and later to the Rourkela Government Hospital, where doctors declared her dead. Family members lodged a written complaint at the Kuanrmunda police outpost. Police said the accused is already married.
