Dhamnagar: A woman was bludgeoned to death by a youth in front of her minor daughter after the former allegedly caught him raping the girl. The heinous incident was reported from Talasitha village under Dhamnagar police limits in Bhadrak district late Sunday night.
The accused was identified as Gopinath Mohanty of the same village. The accused hit the woman with a grinding stone after she caught him raping his daughter and raised an alarm. The victim said the accused after killing her mother tied her limbs and raped her. Profusely bleeding, the deceased was rushed to the district headquarters hospital where the doctors pronounced her dead. The exact motive behind the attack is yet to be ascertained.
The fact that the deceased woman’s husband has remained untraceable and the statement of the girl, the lone witness in the case, that she was first tied and then raped, have made the killing all the more puzzling.
On being informed, police rushed to the spot and started a probe Monday. A scientific team was pressed into service after blood stains, symptoms of rape, were found inside the house which came out during a preliminary inquiry. A medical examination was also conducted on the girl.
According to the girl, Gopinath called her father at 8 pm and took him on his motorcycle. Later, he returned at 1 am without her father and called the deceased on the latter’s mobile phone.
When she opened the door, he smashed her head with a grinding stone and killed her on the spot. Hearing the screams, her daughter rushed to the spot to save her mother but the accused did not spare her either.
During the probe, the girl said, ‘He then dumped the body near the tube well and thrashed me severely. Later, he tied my hands and legs and raped me before fleeing’.
However, police doubted the statement of the girl and took her into custody for further investigation. Locals as well as police launched a manhunt to trace the father of the victim but in vain. SP B Gangadhar accompanied by SDPO Manoranjan Samal also visited the spot and took stock of the situation. Later, DIG (North) Amitendra Nath Sinha visited the spot and made an inquiry. Two platoons of police were deployed outside the house of the victim to avoid a law and order situation.
PNN