The Baliapal police arrested a 35-year-old man on the charge of committing rape and murder of a 24-year-old married woman on Sunday.
The accused identified as Maheswar Behera of Chaumukh village confessed to the crime.
“The accused committed the offence finding the deceased alone in the betel vine yard and he was forwarded to court after being booked under sections 302 and 376 of IPC,” said Baliapal IIC Bimal Nayak, adding the accused was working in his field adjacent to the betel vine yard when the victim was watering plants.
The deceased Sonali Patra, resident of the same village, had gone to a betel vineyard for watering plants near her house yet she didn’t return. Her body woman was found under mysterious circumstances later.
In the meantime the apathy and insensitivity of doctors in carrying out her autopsy has come to the fore. The family members said the postmortem of the body couldn’t be carried and they were harassed .
“Initially, the Baliapal healthcare centre had refused to carry out autopsy and referred the body to the DHH. The DHH too refused to carry out an autopsy and returned the body again to Baliapal. When we protested, the autopsy could be done at the DHH after arrival of a doctor from Baliapal health care centre,” said an aggrieved family member of the deceased.