Bhubaneswar: The hush-hush cremation of a young girl by her family members at Balipatna on the outskirts of the Capital city has raised several eyebrows with many suspecting it to be an incident of honour killing. Soon, rumors spread like wildfire saying that the girl was killed by family over a love affair, which the family did not approve of. Hence, she was eliminated to save the honour of family, the rumour mill was abuzz.
The victim, identified as Nilu Bhoi, 22, was a resident of Bhoi Sahi in Bandhasahi village area under Balipatna police limits here.
Acting on an anonymous phone call, the police, along with a scientific team, rushed to the spot. The anonymous caller informed the police that the deceased was in a relationship with a youth of the area against the will of the family members. So, the family members killed her and surreptitiously cremated the body wrapping it with clothes.
Suspecting some foul play, they collected the bones and other remains of the girl from the cremation ground.
According to sources in the local police, they have been investigating into the matter by registering an unnatural death case. However, the real cause of death will be ascertained from the lab report on the burnt body parts of the girl. A case (UD Case No. 50/19) has been registered in this connection.
On the other hand, the family members of the deceased rubbished the rumours regarding honour killing. They clarified that Nilu had been undergoing treatment for some gynecologic problems for the past few years. Her marriage was also cancelled due to her prolonged ailment. The family members also handed over a bunch of medical reports and prescriptions in connections with her treatment to the police officials.
The family members said that the deceased experienced profuse bleeding Sunday night but did not tell her family members and eventually succumbed to it. She was cremated the following morning after the arrival of her close relatives.