Kabisuryanagar: In a horrifying incident, two sisters reportedly committed suicide by consuming poison to escape trafficking bid by their own father Friday. The heinous incident has been reported from Dhinkisal village under this police limits in Ganjam district.
The deceased have been identified as Deepa Bhuiyan, 17 and Jeeta Bhuiyan, 11, daughters of the accused Padmanav Bhuiyan (40). The incident has spread outrage in the area as locals thrashed the man black and blue before handing him over to police.
On receipt of information, police reached the village and have detained Padmanav for interrogation. Local sarpanch and villagers expressed outrage and demanded stringent action against the accused.
According to sources, Padmanav had married Rita Bhuiyan 22 years back. However, Rita passed away following an ailment leaving behind her two little daughters Deepa and Jeeta. Later, three years back, Padmanav once again married Namita Bhuiyan of Khamar village under Shergad panchayat.
Elder girl, Deepa had to discontinue her studies after Class IX while Jeeta studied Class V in the village school. The two sisters assisted their step-mother in household chores and did petty jobs for villagers.
Deepa worked at a mixture factory and gave money to her step-mother. She also has a step-brother.
Meanwhile, Padmanav worked as a migrant worker in Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Kerala to eke out a living. However, being a habitual drunkard he spent all the money on drinking. Six days back, he had returned from Surat and assaulted the daughters and his wife.
Friday morning, the two sisters consumed rat killer kept in the house after their father allegedly tried to traffick them. Villagers rescued them in critical condition and admitted them to Kabisuryanagar CHC. However, Jeeta died in the CHC while Deepa was shifted to Berhampur-based MKCG Medical College and Hospital where she also breathed her last.
“Padmanav was a drunkard and wanted to sell them. The girls were going through a bad phase after their mother’s death and toiled hard for a living. We cannot even imagine what they had gone through in their lives. Their own father was a step-father to them,” a villager said.
The bodies were seized and sent for autopsy while a further probe was on.