Berhampur: A 26-year-old woman was arrested on Thursday for allegedly strangling her nine-year-old niece-in-law (sister-in-law’s daughter) at Laxmanapalli village under Jagannath Prasad police station limits in Ganjam district.After allegedly killing the child, accused Bidyabharati Moharana had wrapped the body in a plastic sheet and dumped it inside an abandoned toilet located at the rear of her house. Police recovered the body on Wednesday evening.According to police, the girl, a resident of Bhubaneswar, had come to her maternal uncle’s house at Laxmanapalli village along with her mother and elder sister on WednesdayLater in the day, the victim’s mother and uncle left for Kanakuturu for her medical check-up. On returning, they found the younger daughter missing. Despite an extensive search, she could not be traced and the matter was reported to police. The victim’s elder sister told police that the girl had been outside with her till around 1.30pm before returning home for lunch.Senior police officers, including Ganjam superintendent of police (SP) Suvendu Patra, additional SP (Bhanjanagar) Ranjan Kumar De and SDPO (Bhanjanagar) Deepak Kumar Mishra, along with a forensic team, went to the spot. During a search of the area, police found the body inside the abandoned toilet.Police said preliminary investigation revealed that the woman allegedly killed the child out of jealousy, as she had no children even after three years of marriage. According to police, the girl had returned home around 1.30pm and asked for food from her aunt. Taking advantage of the absence of other family members, the accused allegedly strangled her using a cloth, the SP said.During interrogation, the woman confessed to the crime, police said. She reportedly also expressed anger towards her husband, alleging that he did not take her for medical consultations related to fertility, while he had taken his sister for pregnancy-related check-ups, police added.Further investigation is underway.
