Newlywed woman reported missing in Puri triggers protest; found safe a day later

Tension gripped the Kanas block of Puri district after a newlywed woman went missing under mysterious circumstances from her in-laws’ house, prompting allegations of foul play by her family and triggering protests in the area. The situation, however, eased after the woman was traced the following day.

The incident was reported from Sunakhala village, where anxiety prevailed since Saturday, after the woman’s parents alleged that she had been murdered. The missing woman is the daughter of Ramchandra Samantaray of Kalighadi village and had married Rabindra Champatti of Sunakhala village nearly two months ago.

Family Alleges Murder

Demanding justice, the woman’s family members staged a protest by burning tyres on Jagannath Road, alleging that she had been killed by her in-laws. They accused the family of attempting to conceal the crime, leading to heightened tension in the locality.

The in-laws, however, denied all allegations, stating that the woman had gone to a nearby river for a bath and did not return thereafter.

Husband And Father-in-law Absconding

Following the protest and allegations, police detained the woman’s mother-in-law for questioning. Meanwhile, the husband and father-in-law were reportedly not present in the village, leading to speculation that they were absconding.

Missing Woman Found

In a major breakthrough, police traced the missing woman on Sunday in Nirakarpur. The development came after authorities analysed CCTV footage and gathered inputs from areas around the Nirakarpur railway bridge.

Preliminary findings suggest that the woman may have been suffering from mental health issues, a fact that her in-laws were reportedly unaware of at the time of the marriage.

Local residents stated that the woman was treated well by her in-laws and was taken care of. Sources further indicated that the husband and father-in-law may have left the village out of fear of false allegations being levelled against them.

Police said further investigation is underway to ascertain all circumstances related to the incident.