Binjharpur: Four days after the death of a woman, whose half-burnt body was recovered behind her in-laws’ house under the police limits in Jajpur district this Wednesday, police arrested five members of the family including the husband Saturday.
According to police, the woman’s husband confessed to killing her after she allegedly demanded money to repay loan instalments. The accused persons were identified as the deceased’s husband Dinabandhu Samal, father-in-law Dwarikanath Samal, mother-in-law Rebati Samal, brother-in-law Krupasindhu Samal and sister-in-law Sabita Samal.
The accused were produced in the court and remanded to judicial custody after their bail pleas were rejected Saturday. This was stated by Sub-Divisional Police Officer Prashant Majhi at a presser held here Saturday. Majhi said that Dinabandhu had taken loans from several private microfinance institutions in his wife Kunita’s name to meet personal expenses and an extravagant lifestyle.
The loans required repayment in instalments every 15 days. Dinabandhu, a mason by profession, was an alcoholic and failed to repay the instalments on time, leading to frequent quarrels with his wife, Majhi said.
When Dinabandhu returned home from work Tuesday night, Kunita asked him for money to pay the loan instalment. He initially left the house without responding. When he returned later, she again demanded money. In a fit of rage, he allegedly slapped her, causing her to fall unconscious. He then struck her with an iron rod, police said.
After realising she had died, Dinabandhu, with the help of other family members, allegedly took the body to the backyard, poured diesel over it and set it on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence. Police said the confession, seizure of the iron rod and diesel from the spot, and findings of a scientific team during the investigation corroborated the sequence of events. Kunita’s half-burnt body was found behind her in-laws’ house Wednesday morning.
Following the discovery, her family members reached the spot and lodged a written complaint alleging that her husband and in-laws had killed her. Police detained Dinabandhu for questioning and later arrested the five accused after his confession during investigation.
