Berhampur: Police recovered the body of a minor girl who had allegedly eloped with her lover at Kukudakhandi Mukteswar Nagar under Sadar police limits in Ganjam district Saturday.
The girl’s lover, Alok Maharana from Khariaguda area under Jarada police limits had sneaked off with the deceased March 16. Since then, the two were living in a rented house at Kukudakhandi Mukteswar Nagar, the police said.
Notably, it was Alok who lodged a complaint with the Sadar police station Saturday morning, reporting that the girl had committed suicide by hanging from the ceiling fan with her dupatta.
On receiving the complaint, police immediately rushed to the spot to find the body lying on the floor. The cops then informed the girl’s father about the incident.
After reaching the spot, the deceased’s father lodged another police complaint, accusing Alok of kidnapping and murdering his daughter.
“After kidnapping my daughter, he had been keeping physical relationship with her. He killed my daughter by strangulating her. In a bid to escape police action, he is passing it off as a suicide case,” he added.
On being contacted, Sadar sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Jayant Mahapatra said they have registered a case on the basis of the complaint lodged by the deceased’s father under the requisite IPC sections.
He added that Alok has been arrested and police investigation is underway.
Police officials are awaiting the post-mortem report of the girl to make further progress in the case.
PNN