Odisha Police Busts Nurse Murder Case

Jagatsinghpur: Two weeks after recovering the body of Niharika Patra, a nurse of a private nursing home in Cuttack, from the Biluakhai riverbed in Biridi area in Jagatsinghpur district, the Odisha Police on Saturday arrested the prime accused Kishore Chandra Anchal alias Raja, the boyfriend of the deceased.

Briefing mediapersons here in the afternoon, Jagatsinghpur SP, R Prakash said Raja and Niharika were in love for about five years. While their family members had agreed for their marriage, Niharika was reluctant, as Raja was jobless.

“During interrogation, Raja said Niharika was not willing to get married to him as he had no job. As she was earning a monthly salary of Rs 3500-Rs 4000 only and managing her family, she told him that it would be difficult for them to run the family with such a small amount after marriage,” the SP said.

He further said as Niharika repeatedly refused the marriage proposal, Raja decided to kill her.

“On September 8, Raja went to the house of his friend Sunil Sahu ( a house painter at Khelanda village under Jagatsinghpur police limits) in the morning and collected the key of his rented house at Chauliaganj in Cuttack. Later, he returned to Cuttack and picked up Niharika from the nursing home and took her to the rented house where he strangulated her at about 8 pm after a heated argument. After killing her, he kept the body in a plastic sack and tied it to his bike (OD-21-F-9051). He left the house with the body and reached the Bilukhai riverbed in Biridi area where he dumped the body. Later, he arrived at Khelenda village and handed over the house key to Sunil and informed him about the incident,” the SP added.

He said the police have seized the plastic sack, a mobile phone and the bike from the possession of the accused.

Talking about Raja’s surrender to Biridi police yesterday, the SP said the accused did not surrender, rather the police apprehended him after he arrived at the village yesterday following a tip-off.

Asked whether the police will close the case after Raja’s arrest, the SP said the police after forwarding the accused to the court today will pray to the court to take him on a five-day remand for further interrogation.

A day after Niharika went missing, the family members had lodged a complaint at the Madhupatna police station in Cuttack on September 9 in which they had named Raja as the killer.