Seraikela (Jharkhand, Nov 13 A woman was murdered by a man in a village in Jharkhand’s Seraikela-Kharsawan district, with villagers claiming that her body parts were found in a cooking vessel at the accused’s house, police said.
The incident took place at Jombro village within Dalbhanga outpost police station limits (Kuchai police station) of the district on November 10.
The accused, Pailush Munda, has been arrested and was forwarded to judicial custody on Thursday, police said.
Kuchai police station OC Ravindra Munda confirmed that the woman was brutally murdered and her body was chopped into pieces.
Tribal organisation Rashtriya Kol Sena (RKS), in a statement, said the victim, Biswasi Soy (47), was the wife of Munda’s cousin and lived in the same village.
RKS president Vishnu Banra said Soy had gone to a hockey tournament near the village on November 10 to sell hadia (rice beer). As it was late, she stayed at the accused’s house for the night.
Soy, Munda and others, including the accused’s wife, consumed hadia till late at night before going to sleep, Banra said.
He suspected that Munda might have attempted to sexually assault Soy during the night and killed her when she resisted.
When Soy did not return home, her husband and other villagers began searching for her and found her body in a nullah after midnight.
“Bloodstains were found on the accused’s verandah, following which villagers suspected something was amiss and questioned Pailush. He tried to mislead them and claimed that Biswasi had been killed by a wild animal,” Banra told PTI.
During a search of Munda’s house, villagers allegedly found body parts of Soy. They also found pieces of her body in a cauldron placed over a fire, apparently for cooking, Banra claimed.
The victim’s nephew, Navin Soy, who was part of the search team, denied that the accused had eaten any body parts but confirmed that they were found in a cauldron meant for cooking.
Police registered a case based on a complaint lodged by the victim’s husband.
When contacted, SP Manoj Swargiary told PTI that a woman had been murdered and an investigation was underway.
“We have arrested the accused and forwarded him to judicial custody on Thursday,” the SP said.
(PTI News)
