Hatadihi: Police suspect a love affair may have led to the murder of a West Bengal woman whose decomposed body was recovered from a field in Balia area under Soso police limits in Kendujhar district. An alleged accomplice in the crime has been arrested, while the prime accused remains at large. The arrested accused has been identified as Akshaya Kumar Jena, 22, son of Kalandi Jena of Narayanpur village under Bhadrak Rural police limits. He was produced before a court Thursday evening, Anandapur SDPO Kamal Kumar Panda said, adding that a search operation is on to apprehend the main accused. The unidentified woman’s body was found lying face down in a field Tuesday evening.
During the investigation, police recovered a vanity bag near the body, which helped identify the victim as a resident of West Bengal and provided crucial clues in the case. Initially registered as an unnatural death case, the investigation was later upgraded to a case of murder after police examined the circumstances surrounding the incident. According to Additional Superintendent of Police Pratyush Mohapatra, preliminary findings indicate that the woman was involved in a relationship with a man from Jharkhand. Police suspect the man lured her to Odisha and, with the assistance of relatives in Bhadrak district, brought her to Soso area and allegedly murdered her. The victim’s family has been informed and is expected to identify the body. Police have detained some relatives of the suspect for questioning as part of the ongoing investigation.
