Cuttack: A few hours after killing his 48-year-old wife at Bharagola village under 42 Mouza police outpost late Sunday night, an absconding Sushant Behera was arrested from the village Tuesday.
“Soon after his arrest, the 52-year-old accused has been interrogated and medically examined at SCB Medical College and Hospital as he was reported to be mentally ill,” a Cuttack Sadar police official said.
According to the case (320/18) registered with Cuttack Sadar police, on the fateful night, a ‘disturbed’ Sushant beat up his wife Gitanjali Behera and kicked her out of the house before shutting the door on her. A few minutes later, he opened the door after having dinner and allowed Gitanjali in. “Then, he raised the TV’s volume in an attempt to ensure the jostle between the couple goes unheard before attacking Gitanjali’s head with the hammer,” their daughter Lipika Behera said in her complaint lodged Monday morning.
According to family sources, Sushant, who was under medication for mental disorder, had discontinued the medicines for the past couple of days. “This could have aggravated his condition prompting him to commit the barbarous act,” Lipika said.
Police rushed to their residence and recovered Gitanjali’s body from a pool of blood before sending it to SCB for autopsy. “After preliminary investigation, a case has been registered under relevant Sections of the IPC, including 302 (murder),” said Cuttack Sadar sub-inspector (SI) Nrusingh Charan Swain, adding that they have recovered the blood-stained hammer from the spot.