Fugitive man accused of wife’s murder arrested after video call in Odisha

A man wanted for the alleged murder of his wife was arrested after evading capture for around six months. The accused, identified as Lakshmi Maharana, was arrested in the city of Visakhapatnam in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, police sources said on Thursday.

Also Read: Man slits wife's throat over family dispute, surrenders before police

Golanthara Police in Ganjam district is probing into the murder case.

On July 15 last year, Lakshmi had taken his wife, Rani, to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur in critical condition, where she was declared dead upon arrival.

Victim's family alleged murder

Following her death, Rani’s family accused Lakshmi of killing the woman under the influence of alcohol and claimed that the murder was motivated by dowry-related harassment, an issue that reportedly began shortly after their marriage. Lakshmi had escaped from custody while under police supervision at the hospital.

Police had been actively searching for Lakshmi since his escape. Their efforts culminated in his arrest in Visakhapatnam, where he was discovered making threatening video calls to his wife’s relatives, leading to his location being identified and his subsequent capture.

Earlier in another incident, a man had killed his wife by slitting her throat over a petty family dispute at MV-66 village under Kalimela block of tribal-dominated Malkangiri district. The matter came to the fore after the accused surrendered before police on January 11 this year.

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“Arrest me as I have killed my wife,” the accused had confessed to slitting his wife's throat with a sharp weapon following a domestic dispute. On being informed, police officials had rushed to the village and had recovered her body. The body was sent to hospital for post-mortem.