A man stabbed a married woman, who was allegedly dating him before her marriage. After murdering her, he tried to end his life at her home in Bhimatangi area in Bhubaneswar, India on Monday.
He was also allegedly thinking of murdering the woman’s three-year-old son. Fortunately, the child was not present at home when the incident took place. The boy was at their landlord’s flat on the first floor, reported The Times Of India.
The accused is 34-year-old Jagannath Pradhan, and the deceased has been identified as Priyanka Priyadarsini Sahoo (32).
Pradhan, who consumed poison and cut his veins, was taken to a hospital in a critical condition. The motive of the murder is yet to be known.
The incident took place when Priyanka’s husband, Rakesh was not at home. Rakesh said that he got a call on his WhatsApp number from an unknown number. The caller told him about his wife’s murder. Then Rakesh called his house owner to check.
“The door was locked from inside. We broke open the door and found the woman and the accused lying in a pool of blood on the floor. Rakesh immediately reached home and informed the police,” the house owner said.
The police said that Pradhan, who has a roadside eatery in Jajpur, stabbed the woman after an argument. The woman and the accused were from Jajpur district and knew each other, but their bond had weakened recently.
Police said that Pradhan had hatched a plan to kill the woman and her son. "We have seized a note written by Pradhan where he has written he wanted to kill Priyanka and her son. But he did not mention the reason for his anger. Luckily, the child was saved as he had gone upstairs to the landlord’s flat when the murder took place,” deputy commissioner of police Uma Shankar Dash said.
“Pradhan first attacked the woman with a sharp weapon. He then consumed poison and slashed his hands. He is stable. His statement has been recorded. He had confessed to the crime," he added.
Rakesh and Priyanka, who married around seven years ago, had been staying in the rented house for the last three years.
Meanwhile, Pradhan’s mother said that he and Priyanka were in a relationship before her marriage, reported a local outlet. “My son and Priyanka had an affair before her marriage. However, he had promised me not to contact her after the marriage. Following the birth of her child, she telephoned my son and initiated conversation,” she added.
“On the fateful day, my son informed me in the morning that he was going to the local market. I had no clue about his intentions, otherwise I would have stopped him,” the mother said.
