Bhubaneswar, Aug 19 (IANS) Berhampur Police have arrested a 27-year-old man from Karnataka for allegedly killing his paramour and brutally assaulting her minor daughter in the Lochapada area of Berhampur on August 10, Superintendent of Police Saravana Vivek M informed on Tuesday.

On August 11, one Chitrasen Swain reported to the police that her sister Gayatri Swain was found dead and her daughter, Neelam, was in a critical condition in the deceased’s house at Sreema Nagar in Lochapada, Berhampur. The Police, after registering a case, launched an investigation into the matter.

During the investigation, the police ascertained that in 2019, the deceased, who, along with her husband Sadhu Charan Swain and daughter Neelam, was then staying at Koraput, came into contact with the accused on Facebook.

Later, their relationship became intimate, and the deceased Gayatri called the accused to Berhampur. She also arranged a rented house for him near her house at Raghupati Nagar in Berhampur. Meanwhile, the two had eloped to Mumbai, where they stayed for 10 days.

Following this, her husband filed a missing person report at the Badabazar Police Station, stating that his wife had eloped with one Sunil Swain of Manikpur, HinjiliKatu in Ganjam district. Gayatri, after a few days, returned to her husband, but her in-laws did not accept her. So, the deceased stayed in a rented house along with her husband and daughter.

After a few months, her husband was transferred to Bhubaneswar, and Gayatri once again called the accused Sunil to Berhampur.

With the help of the deceased, the accused started a vegetable shop at Lochapada, and the duo started meeting secretly at Gayatri’s new house at Srimaa Nagar.

However, due to some recent misunderstanding, the deceased began ignoring the accused. During the Rakhi Purnima, Gayatri visited her village with her daughter, completely cutting off contact with Sunil. A depressed and humiliated Sunil subsequently planned to murder Gayatri.

“On August 10, the deceased returned to her house in the evening with her daughter. At night, the accused Sunil reached there and engaged in a quarrel. Later, the accused brutally assaulted Gayatri with a sharp weapon, resulting in her death at the spot,” informed Berhampur SP.

The accused, who also assaulted the deceased’s daughter, left the place by assuming her dead.

Neelam is currently undergoing treatment at AIIMS, BBSR. During the investigation, the Police seized the CCTV footage showing the accused Sunil entering the deceased’s house at around 9.45 PM and leaving it after midnight.

The Berhampur police formed a special police team that arrested the accused Sunil from Karnataka, with the help of RPF personnel at Wadi railway station on August 16. During the investigation, police learnt that the original name of the accused person is Santanu Patra (29), who hails from the Khantapada area in Balasore district.

“He is wanted in a 2019 Rape POCSO case where he raped his own cousin sisters. He absconded and started to work in Mumbai. He came in contact with the deceased through Facebook during that time,” the Berhampur SP further added.

–IANS

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