Puri police have arrested a 42-year-old man for allegedly murdering his mother and sealing her body beneath the kitchen floor of their rented house.
The accused, identified as Madan Gajanana Dalei, was apprehended from Tatanagar in Jharkhand after a relentless 57-day manhunt, Puri SP Prateek Singh revealed during a press conference.
A Gruesome Crime and Cover-Up
The victim, Annapurna Dalei, and her son Madan had been living in a rented house on Patitapaban Lane under the Kumbharpara police station limits in Puri for about five months. Annapurna made a living by begging near the Singhadwar entrance of the revered Srimandir.
According to police investigations, after allegedly murdering his mother, Madan went to great lengths to conceal the crime. He placed her lifeless body beneath the kitchen slab and covered it with cement and plaster before fleeing the scene. The horrific incident came to light after neighbours and authorities raised concerns. On August 25, the Kumbharpara police registered a case (No. 436/2024) under sections 103(1) and 238 of the BNS. Madan hails originally from Kharada village under the Kashinagar police station limits in Gajapati district.
CCTV Footage Breaks the Case
To track down the elusive suspect, a special team was formed under the leadership of the City DSP. Reviewing CCTV footage from the rental house and surrounding areas proved crucial. Footage from August 20 captured Madan’s suspicious movements, clearly showing him purchasing cement. Armed with this evidence, the police intensified their search.
Following the crime, Madan embarked on an extensive multi-state flight. He abandoned the rented house on August 23 and travelled through Bhubaneswar, Raipur, and Kolkata before heading to Tatanagar and Mumbai. He spent about a month working as a labourer in Mumbai before returning to Tatanagar, where he took up a job at a local snacks shop. Police also uncovered that during his flight, he sold his old mobile phone in Raipur to buy a new one in an attempt to evade tracking. Acting on a tip-off from reliable sources, a police team successfully tracked him down in Jharkhand.
Motive Still Unclear
Following his arrest, the police brought Madan back to the crime scene to recreate the sequence of events. However, the exact motive behind the murder remains unclear. The SP stated that the accused will be taken on remand for rigorous interrogation to unravel the full mystery behind the tragic death. Further definitive details regarding the cause of death are awaited pending the post-mortem report.
