Two arrested for woman's murder in Deogarh last week

SAMBALPUR: The Deogarh police on Tuesday arrested two persons in connection with the murder of a 26-year-old woman, who was stabbed and bludgeoned to death on the premises of her office in Deogarh town on April 4.
Police identified the two accused persons as Aswini Sandha (34), who is from Pandloi village under Rengali police station limits, and Shyam Khadia, who is from Danipali under Ainthapali police station limits, both of which are in Sambalpur district.
The victim was identified as Rita Kumari Sahu who worked in a non-banking finance corporation. "A refusal of marriage proposal by the victim led to her murder," Deogarh superintendent of police Pramod Kumar Rath said while addressing a press conference.
According to the police, Sahu worked at a vehicle showroom at Lapanga area in Sambalpur district during 2021-22. She used to stay in Sandha's house as a tenant. He developed feelings for Rita but she left the job and even the rented house last year on the pretext that her mother was ill. Later, she joined an NBFC as an office assistant at Khetrajpur in Sambalpur and was transferred to its Burla branch a few months later. She was then transferred to Deogarh this year. During the course of this time, She stayed in a rented house in Deogarh. Throughout this period, Sandha spent around Rs 10 lakh in giving different gifts, including a mobile phone and gold ornaments, to Rita. He also helped her sister financially. On March 31, Sandha, Rita and her sister talked on conference call and during the call, Rita refused his marriage proposal. Enraged by the rejection, Sandha planned to murder Rita.