The District and Sessions Judge Court here on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to former Army doctor Somnath Parida for killing his wife Ushrashree Parida in July 2013.
Hearing the case, the judge convicted the 78-year-old Somnath under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of IPC. Somanth had been lodged at the Jharpada Special Jail here after his arrest in July 2013.
Notably, Somanth had allegedly chopped his wife’s body into 300-odd pieces and stored it in 22 steel boxes stashed in two iron chests. The gruesome murder had occurred at IRC Village here.
The murder had come to light when relatives of the deceased reached the couple’s house after their daughter Lekha failed to contact her mother over phone several times. Somnath used to hang up his daughter’s call saying Ushrashree was unwell. When it continued for a couple of days, Lekha grew suspicious and asked the relatives to check on her mother.
When the brother and nephew of the deceased went to Somnath’s house, the latter did not open the door for a long time. After repeatedly pressing the calling bell, he opened the door. However, he turned them away when they inquired about Ushashree.
Suspicious, they lodged a complaint with the Nayapalli police. The police reached the house for inquiry and found foul smell emanating from the house. Later, the cops confirmed that Ushashree was murdered.