Newlywed woman's body found buried in backyard of in-laws' house in Odisha

JAJPUR: Police in Odisha’s Jajpur district exhumed the body of a newly married woman from the backyard of her in-laws’ house following allegations that she had been murdered, officials said on Monday.

Police also arrested the husband of the 19-year-old deceased, identified as Pramila Das, in connection with the incident at Dandasana village under the Jenapur police station limits.

Pramila had married 24-year-old Ranjan Kumar Das of the same village two months ago. Her family alleged that she had been subjected to domestic violence since the marriage.

According to police, Pramila died on Friday and her body was allegedly buried by her in-laws in the backyard of the house without informing either her parental family or the police.

After receiving an anonymous tip-off on Sunday, Pramila’s father lodged a complaint at the Jenapur police station, alleging that his daughter may have been murdered and seeking a thorough investigation.

Acting on the complaint, police reached the village and exhumed the body, an officer said.

"We have sent the exhumed body for post-mortem and are waiting for a report to determine the cause of death. Besides, an investigation is underway to uncover the circumstances that led to the incident," said Nirupama Jena, inspector-in-charge (IIC) of Jenapur police station.

Initial investigation suggests that an argument had broken out between the couple shortly before the woman’s death, the officer said.

A local court later remanded the accused to judicial custody after rejecting his bail plea.

(With agency inputs)