Basudevpur: Police here successfully cracked the murder mystery of Banalata Jena, 24, a resident of Bada Anandapur village under this block in Bhadrak district and arrested her husband who dumped her body in a forest after killing her 11 months ago. The accused was identified as Kishore Kumar Jena, 30, a resident of Bada Anandapur village, Bhadrak SDPO Sourav Otta informed in a press conference Monday. Police recreated the crime scene Sunday, he added.
According to sources, there was a domestic dispute between Kishore and his wife Banalata. While Banalata was talking to different persons over the phone, Kishore objected to it. Banalata did not deviate from her action despite repeated warnings by Kishore. The rift between the couple widened with each passing day. An argument broke out between the couple April 17, 2023, which turned ugly and in a fit of rage, Kishore thrashed Banalata to death, and kept her body hidden at home. At night, Kishore wrapped the body with polythene and took it on a bike with the help of one of his friends to a nearby forest. He then dumped it inside the rural forest under Soro police station limits. Later, Kishore lodged a missing complaint at Basudevpur police station April 18, 2023 about his wife’s disappearance.
Police recovered Banalata’s body from the forest the same day and registered a case of unnatural death in this regard. On the other hand, as per the complaint of Reena Jena, the mother of the deceased, a murder case (225/23) was registered 23 April, 2023 at Basudevpur police station. After investigating the case for 11 months, finally, the police cracked the murder mystery and arrested the accused husband. Along with Bhadrak Sadar SDPO Sourav Otta, Basudevpur PS IIC Lopamudra Naik and investigating officer Bhagyajeet Naik were also present in the press conference. According to police sources, the person who helped Kishore in committing the crime is still at large.