Puri: Man arrested for killing daughter, disposing of body

PURI: Gop police, on Tuesday,  arrested one Durgacharan Maharana (55) of Bijipur village of Bantaligram panchayat under Gop Police station for allegedly killing his younger daughter Sonali (18) and disposing of her body in the night. He was sent to Nimapara jail on Wednesday after his bail plea was rejected by JMFC court. 

Police also rounded up three others who helped Durgacharan dispose of the body while four others are on the run in the incident. As per reports, Ranjita Maharana (21), the elder daughter of Durgacharan filed a complaint with the police on January 8 alleging that her father and step mother were torturing Sonali for quite some time. She also expressed fear that they might have killed her and disposed of the body. Ranjita works in a private firm in Kolkata while her younger sister Sonali was staying in the village and continuing her plus three first year degree course in Gop college. She was an artist and wanted to study in Kolkata college of fine arts,  informed Ranjita. . 

After receiving the complaint, additional superintendent of police along with a scientific team visited the village. After initial investigation, police registered a case of murder and booked Durgacharan for murder. Durgacharan had two daughters. After his first wife died in 2017, he married Mamata Ojha of Balipatana in 2018. Sources said, both the daughters were allegedly tortured by father and step mother. 

Ranjita said, on being alerted about the incident by some friends in the village, she called up her father from Kolkata and inquired about Sonali. Her father however evaded the question saying Sonali was sleeping. Without any other option, Ranjita rushed home the next morning and filed the complaint, she stated.  On the directions of SP K Vishal Singh, DSP Manobrat Satpathy has taken over the investigation of the case. 

The accused has been booked under sections 302, 201 and 34 of IPC. Three more persons have also been arrested and sent to judicial custody for  helping the accused dispose of the body. “Though a complaint was also lodged against the step mother, it was found during investigation that she was not in the village at the time the crime took place. She had  left for her paternal house a day before the murder,” the DSP said.