Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police on Thursday arrested husband of the woman journalist, who was found dead on railway tracks near Bapuji Nagar in Bhubaneswar the previous evening.
He has been identified as Sridhan Jena.
According to sources, Jena was arrested on the basis of a complaint filed by the family members of the journalist, Madhumita Parida. He has been booked under Sections 80 (dowry death), 108 (Abetment of suicide), 103 (murder) and 3 (5) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
His elder brother has also been detained for questioning.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST EVENING
Madhumita was working as a copy editor with a regional website and had married on March 1, 2024.
She allegedly died by suicide after jumping in front of a train between 7.30 pm and 8 pm on Wednesday. A purported video recorded by her was also posted on social media, alleging that she was being harassed by her husband whom she also accused of having multiple affairs. She stayed at Indira Housing colony in Lingipur under Dhauli police limits with her husband and reportedly went to the railway tracks near Mausi Maa temple on her two-wheeler.
The body was recovered by Government Railway Police, which is also investigating the matter by registered a case of unnatural death and examining the content of her video.
When her husband reached the spot, he was allegedly thrashed by her family members.
FAMILY CRIES FOUL
While blaming Jena for her death, Madhumita’s sister claimed that she had earlier attempted to kill self by drinking phenyl and a complaint was also filed with police in this regard on Monday. “My sister recently got to know that he was earlier married and had to pay Rs 6 lakh as divorce settlement. When my sister attempted suicide earlier, we had moved police. He had then assured to resolve the issues,” she said.
She added that he was contemplating to divorce Madhumita and had even prepared papers for it.
Her father alleged that Jena, who posted with Indian Air Force, had returned home about 5 days ago and along with his elder brother killed her by pushing her onto the tracks.
ACCUSED REFUTES ALLEGATIONS
Jena, however, refuted these allegations. “We used to have fights over money matters. We had also been to the police station and given a written declaration stating that we would live in harmony. I got a call about the social media post when I had gone to pick my brother and later found her dead on the tracks,” he told reporters.
He added that she knew about his divorce.
WHAT DCP HAS TO SAY
Addressing a presser, Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh said it is being suspected that Madhumita took the extreme step following the fights with her husband.
The DCP said Madhumita along with her mother had moved police on midnight of July 22, alleging that her husband was ignoring her and she felt mentally harassed as he was threatening to divorce her. “The following day, she and her husband came to the police station and said that they had resolved the issue,” he added.
She perhaps later found him chatting with other women, leading to more fights.
The DCP said that his mobile phone has been seized. “We are also checking CCTV cameras to know how she reached the railway tracks,” he said.
On July 24, Jena came to Dhauli police station looking for his wife. After few minutes later, Madhumita’ sister Pujarani with her friends arrived there. In the meantime, they got information about a body lying on railway track near Sisubhawan Chhak. A case of unnatural death was registered at Bhubaneswar GRPS and after Jena was arrested on July 25 based on evidence, a police release said.
