Bhubaneswar: A 24-year-old beautician was allegedly abducted and murdered in Odisha’s Sambalpur district, with police arresting the prime accused in connection with the crime.
The victim, identified as Sarita Sa (24), was a resident of Kusumi Mahulaguda village under the Mahulapali police limits and worked at a beauty parlour in Kuchinda town.
According to police, Sarita went missing on July 16 while attending Rath Yatra celebrations in Kuchinda. After she failed to return home, her family lodged a missing person complaint, prompting an investigation.
During the probe, police detained the prime accused, Anil Pruseth of Kundaposi, for questioning. According to investigators, Pruseth allegedly confessed to abducting Sarita in a car, murdering her, and dumping her body in the Badarama forest under the Jamankira police limits.
Based on the confession, police recovered the victim’s body from a forested area in Jamankira and sent it for postmortem examination.
“The body has been recovered and sent for postmortem. The report will ascertain the exact cause of death. Our investigation is continuing to determine the motive behind the crime,” a police officer said.
Police said further investigation is underway, and additional evidence is being collected to establish the sequence of events and the motive behind the alleged murder.
