Angul: In a tragic fallout of teenage love, a minor girl committed suicide at the Sakhi Centre on the premises of the district headquarters hospital in Angul Saturday, hours after her boyfriend took the extreme step. Sources said the 13-year-old girl was found hanging inside a toilet of the facility.
She was a resident of Samakoi village under Sadar police limits in Angul. Police said the minor girl had eloped to Mumbai a few days ago with one Benupani Sahu, 21, of Nimidha village in Dhenkanal district.
Following a complaint lodged by the girl’s family, police registered a case (272/26) and reportedly detained the youth’s parents, prompting him to return with the girl.
Distressed over the situation, Benupani sent the girl to a relative’s house and reportedly committed suicide Friday.
Villagers alleged police pressure contributed to the tragedy and demanded suspension of officers involved.
Tension rose as locals initially refused to release his body. Offi cials, including Motanga IIC Deepak Kumar Lenka and Hindol SDPO Satya Kumar Nanda, tried to pacify the crowd.
The body was eventually taken for a post-mortem around 2:30 pm. After being rescued, the girl was kept at the Sakhi Centre. However, she went to the toilet Saturday morning and did not return.
Authorities later found her hanging from a shower pipe using her scarf. Police reached the spot, recovered the body and launched an investigation.
The body was sent for post-mortem and later handed over to the family, said Angul police station IIC Prakash Majhi.
Further investigation will continue after the post-mortem report is received, he said.
The incident has raised serious questions about security at the Sakhi Centre, which is meant to be a safe shelter.