Bhubaneswar: The second additional sessions court’s judge, Bandana Kar, here on Tuesday sentenced Jagannath Pradhan (35) to life imprisonment for the sensational murder of Priyanka Priyadarshini Sahoo (32) at her residence in Bhimatangi area here on July 5, 2021.Additional public prosecutor Sai Ranjan Mahanandia said Pradhan had slit Sahoo’s throat over a personal grudge. “Flawless investigation and presentation of evidence and facts during trial led to the conviction,” Mahanandia said.Police said Pradhan and Sahoo, both from Jajpur district, had known each other for years. She married Rakesh Sahoo in 2014, and the couple has a minor son. Investigators found that Pradhan had earlier tried unsuccessfully to marry her.On the morning of the crime, Pradhan arrived at her home carrying chocolates, soft drinks, a knife, a poison bottle and vermilion. He clicked a selfie with her and her son before the child went upstairs to the landlord’s residence.Pradhan then attempted to woo Sahoo, forcibly applied vermilion on her forehead and urged her to elope with him. When she rejected his proposal, a scuffle broke out. Enraged, Pradhan attacked her with the knife, killing her instantly, before slashing his own veins in a suicide bid.Police found both Pradhan and Sahoo lying in a pool of blood. While she succumbed, Pradhan survived and was arrested.
