Youth held from C'garh for woman's murder in Malkangiri

Koraput: A 20-year-old youth was arrested from Chhattisgarh in connection with the murder of a young woman whose skeletal remains were discovered in Malkangiri district last week.

The accused, identified as Umesh Nag, a resident of Pondum village in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, was arrested for the murder of 25-year-old Mangaldei Nag, a resident of Murtunda village in the same district.

On April 12, police recovered the skeletal remains of Mangaldei from Sunatang forest area, located along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border under Malkangiri police station limits. Initially, a case of unnatural death was registered.

A missing case had already been lodged at Sukma police station. "Based on the clothing remains found at the scene and subsequent investigation, we were able to identify the victim and zero in on the suspect," said Malkangiri superintendent of police Vinod Patil.

Investigation revealed that Mangaldei and Umesh had been in a physical relationship for over a year. Trouble reportedly started when Mangaldei became pregnant.

According to the SP, Umesh had taken her to the district headquarters hospital (DHH) in Malkangiri on March 20 to get the pregnancy terminated. However, doctors refused the procedure.

Following this, Umesh allegedly lured Mangaldei to the nearby Sunatang forest where he murdered her and tried to destroy evidence.

"Based on the autopsy and circumstantial evidence, we converted the unnatural death case into a murder investigation," Patil said.

Umesh was arrested from Chhattisgarh and brought to Malkangiri for further questioning. Police are continuing the investigation and have not ruled out additional charges.