Bhubaneswar: The postmortem report has attributed the death of the 20-year-old girl student in Odisha’s Pattamundai to antemortem burn injury, Kendrapada SP Siddharth Kataria told the media on Tuesday.
“It is a case of suicide since the report reveals that she sustained the injuries prior to her death. There were no other external injuries and the report also negated the presence of poison. The girl had sustained 95% burns. FMT doctors had also visited the spot to verify the circumstances leading to her death,” he said.
The SP further stated that the incident took place between 8 am to 11 am on August 6 after the parent left home for community health centre at Pattamundai at 7.40 am. They returned at around 11.30 am and found her in a charred state. “They were in touch with her till 8.30 am as per the call detail record. We now have scientific evidence and the postmortem report. Further investigation will be conducted to ascertain how she procured the petrol. The prime accused in the case Promod Behera has also been forwarded. We have WhatsApp messages as evidence. Mobile phones of those who received any evidence with regards to the case will be seized,” he added.
The postmortem report assumes significance since Behera’s family members had earlier alleged that she was killed for honour, not due to self-immolation. They claimed that the girl’s father opposed their relationship.
On August 6, the Plus III final-year student of political science allegedly set herself afire at her house at Badapada village under Pattamundai police limits.
The girl’s father had then alleged that she took the extreme step following blackmail threats from her boyfriend. He also claimed that the youth had made her video viral just two days before her death. Behera was arrested on August 10 after police found around 50 obscene videos on his mobile phone. He had also sent an explicit video of the victim to her father and two others on July 17 with the intention of circulating it.
Notably, the role of police also had come under scanner in the case after the girl’s family alleged that their complaint went unheard six months ago. Following which, ASI of Pattamundai (Rural) police station Saliendra Mohan Palei was transferred to ensure transparent investigation into the matter.