Odisha: Accused ex-boyfriend arrested in self-immolation death case

Bhubaneswar: The police, on Sunday, arrested the accused ex-boyfriend in connection with the self-immolation death of a 20-year-old girl at her residence in Pattamundai area of Odisha’s Kendrapara district earlier this week.

Speaking to the media, Kendrapara Superintendent of Police (SP), Siddharth Kataria, said on Sunday that based on the complaint lodged by the victim’s father on Saturday, a case was registered at the Pattamundai Rural police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, including Sections 75 (sexual harassment), 78 (stalking) 108 (abetment to suicide) and the IT Act against one Pramod Kumar Behera.

SP Kataria said that police arrested the accused Pramod Behera on Sunday and seized a mobile phone from him.

He also told that the policemen had earlier also seized the mobile phone of the deceased’s father.

“Following forensic team examination, we found prima facie evidence and forwarded the accused to court. We found around 60 obscene videos and on July 17, the accused had sent one obscene video to the deceased’s father. He also made the video viral by sending the same to four to five other persons. Through Call Detail Records analysis, we found the accused had telephoned the deceased several times in the morning on August 6. The accused messaged five to six times to the victim on August 5,” SP Kataria said.

The Superintendent of Police also revealed that the post-mortem report and other scientific analysis report will reveal whether the girl had committed suicide or was killed by anyone.

As per reports, the deceased’s parents and other family members were away when the victim allegedly committed suicide by setting herself on fire on August 6, allegedly over blackmailing by her former boyfriend Pramod Behera.

The deceased girl’s father, while speaking to media persons, alleged that his daughter was in a relationship with a youth.

After the break-up, the accused was harassing her so she took the extreme step.

He alleged that the former boyfriend of the deceased used to send obscene photos and threatened to kill her.

–IANS