The Commissionerate police on Thursday cracked the case of murder of a woman, whose headless body had been recovered along the Bharatpur-Chandaka road near Dasapur village on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on February 4. The police also arrested two accused persons, Angad Das alias Sanjay and Srikanta Das alias Chandu, involved in the ghastly murder.
Commissioner of Police Sudhanshu Sarangi said the victim, identified as Puspalata Roul (28), was strangled to death over a marital discord on February 3. Her head was severed and body dumped along the Bharatpur-Chandaka road.
The severed head was disposed of some two km away from the body. The remains of the head were recovered from an elephant trench after the two accused were caught after a detailed probe, informed Sarangi.Sarangi said Puspalata had developed some relationship with the accused Sanjay, who was initially staying at her residence on rent.
Puspalata had come in contact with Sanjay after her husband’s death. “Sanjay was staying on rent at Puspalata’s house and she knew him for the last six years. Though Puspalata started living at Tarini Nagar Basti at Bharatpur, she was frequently visiting Sanjay. It was one month back that Puspalata again started living with Sanjay,” said Sarangi. Later, Pusplata got married to one Pritiranjan Pati and started living with him in the Chakeseini area. However, she soon left Pritiranjan and started living with Sanjay.
According to Sarangi, there was dispute between Puspalata and Sanjay over some matter. On February 3, Sanjay strangulated Puspalata to death; and with the help of his friend Chandu, planned to dispose of the body.
They then went to the Aiginia market and bought a pair of surgical gloves and a knife. They severed Puspalata’s head and then disposed of the body. As ascertaining the identity of the woman was a challenge, several posters had been released and the police also announced a cash award of Rs 50,000. “Though we started getting some inputs, there was no truth in it.