Mayurbhanj: The double murder, in which a 32-year-old man allegedly bludgeoned his wife and mother-in-law to death and planted banana trees after he buried the bodies in his lemon orchard at Kuliana, was pre-meditated, according to Mayurbhanj police.
While Debashis Patra, an ICDS worker, managed to hide the crime, which took place on July 12, for over two weeks, he was arrested July 29 evening. Bodies of his wife Sonali Dalai (25) and mother-in-law Sumata Dalai were exhumed from the garden during afternoon hours following an investigation into a missing complaint lodged by Patra on July 25.
Meanwhile, police have also arrested his mother Bharati Patra and associates Sambhunath Naik (29) and Sipun Pradhan for their complicity in the crime. They were produced before a local court by Kuliana police on Friday.
According to preliminary investigation, Patra and his second wife Sonali Dalai, who were married for three years ago with a one-year-old son, were facing domestic issues. Sonali was staying at her parent’s place in Ambdubi village under Shamakhunta block for some months. On July 12, her mother brought her to Patra’s house in an effort of reconciliation. She also stayed back.
When the mother-daughter duo was asleep, the four tied their hands and legs, gagged them and brutally assaulted them with an axe and stones, killing them on the spot. Patra then dug up a 10 ft deep ditch in the lemon orchard behind the house and buried them. To avoid suspicion, he also planted trees on the spot.
“He confessed to police that he was unhappy with Sonali and considered her a burden. He felt that he could not lead a happy conjugal life with his wife and planned to eliminate her,” additional SP Deepak Gochhayat told mediapersons.
He took the help from Sambhunath and Sipun as well his mother Bharati to execute his plan.
The health worker was previously married in 2015 but separated from his first wife in 2022 due to marital discord. A criminal case was also registered against him for harassment and torture. He remarried Sonali but couple had frequent disputes. She too had filed a case of torture and inhuman activities against her husband.
“The cases against Patra prompted the cops to look into the husband’s role and they interrogated him during which he voluntarily confessed to the heinous crime,” the SP added.