The charred bodies of a woman and her daughter were found in an abandoned house at Govindpur in Jagatsinghpur district after they were allegedly set afire by the husband of the woman in the wee hours on Sunday.
Police have detained the accused husband and the in-laws of the woman for questioning.
It was alleged that the accused set afire to the woman and their eight-year-old girl in the dead of the night when the duo was in sleep.
“He was threatening me to kill my sister if I fail to pay him money. This was going on for quite some time, and today they have killed them,” brother of the woman alleged.
The accused was living with his family in an isolated place at the village after his family refused to accept his relationship with the deceased woman.
“A case (127/2015) has been registered and we are investigating into the case. We have detained Subhendu Bhoi, husband of the woman, and he will be identified after the investigation is over. Based on the outcome of the probe, action will be taken against the culprit,” Abhaychandpur police station IIC Anirudha Routray said.
“He executed the crime with the help of some antisocial elements. He had organised a small party for these men where they had booze and non-vegetarian food. After this, they committed the crime. We demand proper investigation into the case. If we feel that the investigation is not going on proper track, we will approach the Superintendent of Police and the DGP seeking justice,” a villager said.
According to sources, Subhendu and Prabhati were in a relationship since long. However, the former was forced to marry Prabhati as she became pregnant. But his family did not accept the relationship following which he lived with Prabhati at an isolated house on the outskirts of the village.