Murder case of Bhubaneswar's hotelier solved, woman held

Bhubaneswar, Jan 16 (IANS) The Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate Police has apprehended one woman from Puri in connection with the murder of a hotelier in the Balianta area on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar city.

The woman allegedley killed the victim businessman, Biswajit Nayak following a heated argument on January 12.

Nayak, a resident of Hirapur village under Balianta police limits, had a restaurant in VSS Nagar area of the city. Nayak’s body wrapped in a blood-stained blanket was recovered by police on Saturday night. Police during investigation found grave injury marks on the head of the deceased suggesting prima facie that he had been murdered.

“We later came to know that Nayak had a brief relationship with a woman, Sunki Rana of Jharsuguda district. Sunki had earlier been awarded 12 years imprisonment in 2005 for killing her sister-in-law by suspecting the victim of having an illicit affair with her husband. She was staying at an Ashram in Puri for the last four years after getting out of jail. Meanwhile, Nayak’s mother also often visits the same Ashram for treatment. The deceased Nayak during his visits to Puri to meet his mother came into contact with accused Rana and they soon entered into a relationship,” said DCP Prateek Singh.

Singh also said that Sunki used to visit the house of the deceased at regular intervals taking permission from the head of the Ashram at Puri with a plea that she is going to visit her native village. One of the female inmates of the Ashram was the jailor where Sunki served her jail term too and she respects her very much.

On December 30, Sunki had come to the house of Biswajit and stayed with him but received regular phone calls from Puri about her return.

“Whenever Sunki asked Biswajit to allow her to go to Puri, he refused to give her permission. Singh said that the couple again had a serious argument over the refusal on January 12 and in a fit of rage Sunki hit Nayak with a wooden stick multiple times. The deceased sustained serious head injuries and died at the spot,” Singh added.

Sunki waited at the spot till evening and later went to Puri by hiring an auto-rickshaw on the incident day. He stated that the accused was apprehended from Puri and she has also confessed to have committed the crime. Police later seized the blood stained wooden stick, clothes and the mobile phone of the accused.

DCP Singh noted the accused woman had not pre planned the murder but committed it in a fit of rage.