Bhubaneswar: In a major breakthrough, the Commissionerate Police solved Thursday the mystery surrounding the recovery of a headless woman’s body February 4. The torso of the deceased was found lying along the Adharua-Daspur road under Chandaka police limits in the state capital.
The deceased has been identified as Puspalata Roul, a resident of Phuleswari slum under Khandagiri police limits. Her severed head was recovered from a secluded spot in Bharatpur locality.
The arrested accused duo has been identified as Angad Das alias Sanjay, who worked as a mason and Srikant Das alias Chandu. They were arrested from a place in Dasapalla area in Nayagarh district.
Puspalata was in a live-in relationship with Sanjay since the death of her husband six years back. Both were staying at Phuleswari slum in Patrapada area under Khandagiri police limits for the last six years.
During investigation, it came to the fore that Puspalata had married another person December 24 last year. However, December 29, she returned to Sanjay once more. The latter however, refused to accept her for her fickle-minded attitude. Sanjay decided to kill Puspalata to get rid of her once and for all. He carried out the gruesome act with the help of his friend Chandu. The two strangulated Puspalata with a cloth February 3 and then they cut of her head. The body was disposed at one place while the head at another.
A police team along with a forensic experts led by Bhubaneswar DCP Umashankar Dash took the accused to the spot at Bharatpur forest where the severed head was recovered. The place is two kilometres away from the spot where the woman’s torso was found. The torso was identified as that of Puspalata by her mother. She did so due to the presence of a tattoo on the deceased’s body.
The severed head has been sent to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar for further examinations, it was learnt.
Notably, some local people first spotted the torso of the woman. They then informed the police. Since it was a headless body, police had difficulties in identifying the body. A forensic team and a sniffer dog were also used for the probe. Commissionerate Police had announced a cash award of Rs 50,000 for anyone who would help identify the deceased.
PNN