Odisha Police have apprehended five individuals in connection with two distinct cases involving the rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl in Dhenkanal district and the killing of a 14-year-old girl in Mayurbhanj district. In the first incident, four suspects, including the main accused Gangadhar Patra alias Jaga, were arrested by Dhenkanal district police. The victim, a minor college student, went missing after leaving home for an exam on March 18 and was later found dead near the Saruali Gram Panchayat office.
Police investigations revealed that the prime accused, a bus driver acquainted with the victim, allegedly raped and murdered her after offering her a ride in his car following the examination. He, along with accomplices, disposed of the body in a forested area near Saruali village. The arrests were made as the suspects attempted to flee in a vehicle on Saturday night.
In a separate case, Mayurbhanj Police detained a tuition teacher named Trilochan Mahakud for the murder of a 14-year-old girl in the Karanjia area. Allegedly motivated by infatuation towards the victim, the accused, who held a grudge against her family’s disapproval, strangled her with a belt after an argument near her residence on March 20. Subsequently, he concealed the body in a gunny bag and discarded it in a nearby forest. Following a complaint by the victim’s family, the accused confessed during interrogation, with investigations ongoing.
