Odisha Police Reveal Motive Behind Jharaphula’s ‘Murder’; Know The Details

Jajpur: Almost three months after the death of Jharaphula Nayak, the Jajpur Police on Thursday revealed the motive behind her alleged murder.

Briefing mediapersons here, Jajpur SP Rahul PR said a case was registered in Kuakhia Police Station on January 27 this year relating to the death of a girl whose body was found on the roadside near Mulapala Chhak on January 26.

During the investigation, police got to know that the girl was a Plus III student of Rama Devi Women’s University in Bhubaneswar. Two days after the recovery of the body, police arrested one Rakesh Swain from Bhubaneswar. Another accused, Amaresh Rout of Sundarpada in Bhubaneswar, was arrested on April 11. The third accused, Shakti Sekhar Swain, was also nabbed from Bhubaneswar during a joint raid by the Commissionerate Police and Jajpur police last evening.

“The third accused had plotted the murder of Jharaphula with Rakesh and helped him to dispose of her body at Mulapala on a scooter. He will be forwarded to the court today. We will pray the court to take him on remand for further interrogation,” the SP added.

Also Read: Third Accused In Jharaphula ‘Mysterious’ Death Nabbed From Bhubaneswar

Giving the details of the murder, he said that Rakesh had borrowed Rs 30,000 from Jharaphula to purchase a motorcycle some months back.  Jharaphula used to repeatedly ask him to return the money.

“During her visit to Bhubaneswar on January 24 to attend a family celebration, Jharaphula told Rakesh that she would tell his family members and collect the money from them. Enraged by her threat, Rakesh plotted her murder with Shakti Sekhar. As per the plan, he invited Jharaphula to an OYO hotel on January 26 on the pretext of returning the money. He then forced her to consume alcohol. After she fell unconscious, he strangulated her. Later, he took the body on a scooter with Shakti Sekhar and dumped it on the roadside near Mulapala Chhak in Jajpur,” the SP said.

He further said that the test report of viscera sent to the forensic laboratory has revealed the presence of alcohol in her body. Apart from this, the postmortem report has also confirmed that the death was due to strangulation.

The SP said that the police will frame the chargesheet soon and request the court for a speedy trial of the case.

Also Read: Jharaphula Murder: Odisha Police Arrests Another Accused On Conspiracy Charge

Also Read: Police Detain Prime Suspect In Jharaphula Death Case In Bhubaneswar