Mayurbhanj, Odisha : In a chilling incident that has shaken Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, a man allegedly murdered his wife and mother-in-law, buried their bodies in the backyard, and planted banana trees over the grave to cover up the crime.
The gruesome discovery was made in Nuagaon village under Kuliána police limits, where the partially decomposed bodies of 23-year-old Sonali Dalai and her 55-year-old mother Sumati Dalai were recovered from a pit behind their home. The two women had been reported missing since July 19.
The accused, Devashish Patra, husband of Sonali and son-in-law of Sumati, has been arrested. During police interrogation, he confessed to killing both women with a stone following a domestic dispute, burying their bodies, and attempting to conceal the crime by planting banana saplings over the freshly dug soil.
The breakthrough came when villagers, suspicious about recent digging in Devashish’s garden and Sonali’s prolonged absence, alerted the police. Upon investigation, law enforcement officers exhumed the bodies and launched a full-scale inquiry.
According to police sources, Devashish was previously married to a healthcare worker and was embroiled in legal battles related to that relationship. He married Sonali two years ago. Investigators suspect ongoing domestic discord may have led to the double homicide, though the exact motive remains under investigation.
Additional SP Deepak Kumar Gochhayat stated, “Based on the missing persons report and the family’s suspicions, we detained Devashish for questioning. He admitted to the murders and showed us the burial site. With the help of local residents and machinery, we recovered the bodies. A detailed investigation is now underway to determine the exact motive.”
The horrifying crime has sent shockwaves across the Nuagaon and Kuliána areas.
