In a suspected case of honour killing, police on Saturday exhumed the body of a minor girl, who was a resident of Sorada village under Nuagaon police limits in Nayagarh district, from a place under Phiringia police limits of Kandhamal district.
While it is suspected that the father of the victim killed her over a love affair, the police believe that the body was buried in an attempt to destroy evidence.
The incident came to the fore after the neighbours of the deceased girl found her missing. They raised doubts over her sudden disappearance. After coming to know about the incident, the Nuagaon Police swung into action and launched an investigation.
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Under the supervision of the Nayagarh sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), a team comprising officials of Dasapalla and Nuagaon police stations reached Phiringia and launched an investigation. During the investigation, they came to know about the spot where the minor girl’s body was buried. They disinterred the body and sent it to Phulbani District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) for post-mortem.
In this connection, the police have detained three family members for their alleged involvement in the case and are trying to connect the dots to establish how the girl reached Phiringia in Kandhamal district from Sorada village under Nuagaon Police limits of Nayagarh district.
When asked, Nayagarh SDPO Snehashis Sahu said, “We came to know that the dead body of a minor girl of Sorada village was buried at a place under Phiringia police limits in Kandhamal district. Immediately, we formed a team and it visited the spot and exhumed the body. In this connection, we have detained three persons.
When asked about the reason behind the murder, he said, “Our preliminary investigation has revealed that they had buried the body with an intention to destroy evidence. However, it is too early to say anything about the reason behind the murder.”