Engineer, Transgender Partner Arrested For ‘Killing’ Father In Odisha’s Berhampur

Berhampur: A man and his transgender partner have been arrested for the alleged murder of the former’s father at Ayodhyanagar in Odisha’s Berhampur.

The victim, Garibabandhu Panda (67), was brought to MKCG Medical College and Hospital on August 17 by his son, Sandeep Panda (44), in a critical condition but was declared dead on arrival. Doctors found multiple injury marks on Garibabandhu’s body, and informed police, which then registered a case and conducted an investigation, suspecting that it was pre-planned murder.

According to sources, Garibabandhu was a retired employee of the Revenue department. Sandeep met Prabeen Kumar Sharma, also known as Shreya (42), a transgender woman originally from Shibaji Nagar, Thane in Maharashtra, while working as a diploma engineer in a company in Mumbai. He brought her to live with him in Berhampur about 3 months ago and they have been residing together as a couple along with Garibabandhu, a widower. His daughter resides in the US.

On the other hand, Sandeep, though married with a daughter, had been deserted by his wife.

Police investigation revealed that Shreya was eyeing Garibabandhu’s property. On the night of August 16, a quarrel erupted between Shreya and Garibabandhu, during which the former allegedly strangled him, smashed his head against the wall and threw an almirah on him, causing fatal injuries. Later, the duo attempted to clean up the crime scene and passes it off as an accident. Sandeep called his sister the following morning, claiming that their father had fallen and died.

Police, however, found blood stains on the walls, roof, and floor, along with freshly washed clothes, bed sheets, and a mosquito net inside the washing machine. Two blood-stained pillows were also found and seized for further investigation and chemical analysis. The duo was then detained for questioning and later arrested.

It was further alleged that the accused were alcoholic and often created disturbances at home.