Of Star-Crossed Love & Crimes Of Passion In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Did the wife murder Odisha Forest Officer Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra? This is the top most-question doing the rounds in Odisha after the young Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) succumbed to his burn injuries in a private hospital in Cuttack.

Mohapatra had given his dying statement to Paralakemundi police in presence of a magistrate. However, police have refused to divulge details, deepening the mystery.

The deceased’s parents have claimed that all was not well between Mohapatra and his wife, Bidyashree. They alleged that she had set their son on fire after a marital dispute. On the other hand, the wife claimed it was an accident and she is innocent.

Till police disclose further details, the case seems to be that of a ‘crime of passion’.

Incidentally, Odisha has witnessed some star-crossed love ending in gory murder in recent times. Here are some such cases that grabbed headlines and sent shockwaves across the state:

Murder & Suicide Bid

In a seeming crime of passion, a 34-year-old man, Jagannath Pradhan, was arrested for the murder of a married woman, Priyanka Priyadarshini Sahu, in Bhubaneswar. After the killing, the accused consumed poison and slit his vein in an unsuccessful suicide bid.

The incident was reported from Bhimatangi Houseboard Colony in Airfield police station area in the city in early July.

The accused’s mother claimed her son was in a relationship with Priyanka and the crime was the fallout of frustrated love.

Police said preliminary probe has revealed that the victim and accused knew each other. “There is no evidence indicating forcible entry of the accused into the house. The recovered note will be sent to the forensic lab,” Bhubaneswar DCP Umashankar Dash said.

The accused is undergoing treatment and will be questioned once he recovers, the DCP added.

Marital Mayhem

Police have arrested a woman, Juli Nayak, and her parents for murdering her husband, Bhagaban Nayak, and then dumping his his headless body in Rushilkulya river at Soroda in Ganjam district.

Police said Bhagaban shared a strained relationship with his wife Juli, whom he suspected of having an affair. They frequently quarrelled over this issue. Unable to bear the mental and physical torture, Juli shifted to a rented house at Pushpanagar in Soroda.

SDPO (Aska) Uma Shankar Singh said, “The incident took place on May 18 when Bhagaban went see his two children at Pushpanagar. There was a heated altercation between him and his wife, who later called her sparent and plotted to kill Bhagaban. Late in the night, the woman’s father, Kabiraj Nayak, attacked his son-in-law with an axe killing him on the spot. Later, he along with his wife, Kishori Nayak, and Juli took the body to the Rushkulya riverbank and buried it after severing the head.”

Headless Woman’s Body

Earlier in February, the recovery of the headless body of a woman had sent Bhubaneswar police in a tizzy over the identity of the deceased along with the media sensationalising the case. It turned out a jealous lover had killed the woman, Pushpalata Roul.

The then Commissioner of Police, Sudhanshu Sarangi, said the deceased was in a relationship with the prime accused, Sanjay Das, after the death of her first husband. On December 24 last year, Pushpalata married one Priti Ranjan Pati and shifted to Chakeisiani.

A few days later, she came back to Sanjay and was staying with him for the last one month. The live-in couple had a quarrel over the marriage on February 3. In the afternoon, he strangulated her to death with a scarf. He then called his friend Srikant Das alias Chandu and they took the body in an SUV to Dasapur and dumped it after severing the head.

Jharaphula Murder Case

In another sensational case, a Plus III student of Rama Devi University, Jharaphula Nayak, was found dead on the roadside near Mulapala Chhak in Jajpur district in late January.

Following an investigation, police arrested three persons — Rakesh Swain, Amaresh Rout and Shakti Sekhar Swain — from Bhubaneswar for allegedly murdering Jharaphula.

Police said Shakti had plotted the murder and Rakesh helped him to dispose of the body at Mulapala on a scooter.

According to police sources, Shakti and Jharaphula were in a relationship. The accused killed the student after a quarrel inside a room in a Bhubaneswar guesthouse.