Aska: After six long years, the police Sunday cracked a case wherein a schoolgirl was brutally killed in broad daylight here in Ganjam district.
Family members of the girl-Priyanka heaved a sigh of relief as the police arrested four persons including the local sarpanch and a minor boy in this connection.
The accused are sarpanch Sanjay Jena, Nabakrushna Jena and his wife Sabita Jena, and Narayan Mohanty.
Aska IIC Santosh Kumar Jena and SDPO Subash Chandra Panda revealed this at a press meet Sunday.
According to police, Priyanka’s mother allegedly had an affair with Nabakrushna and the girl opposed this. Frustrated with Priyanka’s intervention, Nabakrushna and the co-accused hatched a plan to eliminate her.
Nabakrushna with the help of the minor accused called Priyanka to his house while her parents had gone to witness a festival. The other accused, who were waiting in the house, beat Priyanka to death and dumped the body March 20, 2012.
Her family members returned home and launched a search after there was no trace of her. Later, the body was recovered and the police sent it for autopsy.
A case of murder was registered, but even after some six years and transfer of four IICs, the police had failed to crack the case.
Earlier, Priyanka’s family and relatives had gheraoed the local police station and sought a Crime Branch probe into the case, but to no avail.
IIC Jena reopened the case and began a fresh probe following which the suspects were detained.
During interrogation, the main accused spilled the beans and based on his revelations the arrests were made.
PNN