Kendrapada: A 29-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly murdering his wife in Jagatsinghpur district and attempting to pass it off as suicide.The accused, identified as Noor Mohammad of Kajimahala village under Krushnanandapur police station limits, was arrested in connection with the death of his 23-year-old wife, Afsana Begum.Police said the victim’s mother, Salma Bibi of Atalapur village, lodged an FIR on Monday alleging that her daughter had been subjected to continuous harassment and torture by her husband over dowry demands since their marriage in 2023.The complainant alleged that Noor Mohammad murdered Afsana Begum on Sunday night and later hanged her body from a ceiling fan to make it appear as a case of suicide. The body also bore multiple injury marks, raising suspicion of foul play.“Based on the FIR, we seized the body and sent it to the district headquarters hospital, Jagatsinghpur, for autopsy and arrested the accused on charges of uxoricide under sections 103 (murder) and 85 (cruelty by husband or his relatives) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act,” said inspector-in-charge (IIC) of Krushnanandapur police station, Ranjan Kumar Majhi.The accused was produced in court at Jagatsinghpur on Tuesday. The court rejected his bail plea and remanded him in judicial custody. Further investigation into the case is underway, police added.
