In a shocking development, the decomposed body of a young woman was recovered from an abandoned mine in Badasaunli, under the jurisdiction of Khordha Sadar police station.
The family has alleged foul play, claiming it was a case of murder, while pointing fingers at a suspect previously questioned by the police.
The victim, identified as Nirupama Parida alias Mita, had been missing for nearly eight months. According to reports, Nirupama worked as a caregiver in the Bharatpur area under the Bhubaneswar Commissionerate Police. On January 24, she informed her family via phone that she was heading to her native village in Ranpur. However, she never arrived, and her whereabouts remained unknown since that day.
Distraught family members filed a missing persons complaint at the Bharatpur police station on January 27. Police officials registered the case and initiated an investigation, but failed to trace her despite repeated assurances to the family. Frustrated by the lack of progress, the family escalated the matter by lodging complaints with the Chief Minister and the Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, expressing doubts over the police’s handling of the case.
During the initial probe, police detained and interrogated a suspect named Ranjit Bisoi, but no breakthroughs were reported at the time. Today, the body was discovered in a highly decomposed state in the deep Kalinga Mundia mine, a restricted area in Khordha. Preliminary investigations by the police confirmed the identity as Nirupama based on family recognition.
The victim’s father and brother positively identified the body and reiterated their murder allegations, directly blaming Ranjit Bisoi for the crime. They have demanded stringent punishment for the accused and a thorough reinvestigation. The Bharatpur police have sent the body for postmortem examination at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, after which it will be handed over to the family.
This incident has raised serious questions about the efficiency of the police investigation, especially given the family’s prior complaints to higher authorities. Authorities have stated that the probe is ongoing, and further details will be revealed based on the autopsy report.
