Keonjhar: Cops arrested a man Wednesday on charges of murdering his wife and concealing the body in a sack at his residence in Sadangi village under Baria police limits in this district. After hiding the body in a sack, the man had kept it in a locked room. The victim was identified as Barsali Bentkar, wife of accused Pradip Bentkar. Police arrived at the house, seized the body and sent it for post-mortem to the Champua sub-divisional hospital.
The incident has sparked tension in the area. Sources said that Pradip had a heated argument with his allegedly drunk wife, Monday night outside the house. He dragged his wife back inside the residence where he thrashed her mercilessly. Barsali lost her consciousness due to the beating and subsequently breathed her last.
Police informed that to hide his criminal act, Pradip stuffed the body in a sack and hid it in a room which he locked from outside. However, the ghastly crime came to light after Pradip’s daughter Sandhya started searching for her mom. Sandhya found the body of her mom and informed the other residents of the village. The villagers caught Pradip and tied him to a pole before informing the police. On getting information, officials from the Baria police station reached the spot and recovered the body concealed in the sack. They freed Pradip who had been tied up and arrested him. IIC of Baria police station, Hemant Kumar Majhi informed that they have initiated an investigation into the murder. “We are interrogating Pradip to find out why he took such a violent step,” stated Majhi. He added that police are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the exact cause behind Barsali’s death.