Jayapur (Koraput): A 22-year-old pregnant woman from Koraput district, who had been missing since July 29, was allegedly murdered by her husband and buried in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Police have arrested the husband and his alleged accomplice after an investigation led to the recovery of the victim’s body from a burial site in Vizianagaram district, officials said on Saturday.
The deceased was identified as Albina Garada (22) of Tunkhal village under Dasmantpur police limits in Koraput district. The arrested accused are Mohan Khilla (35), her husband, and Milan Kuldeep (19), who allegedly helped dispose of the body and destroy evidence.
According to police, Mohan had lodged a missing-person complaint at Sunabeda Police Station on August 1, claiming that Albina had gone missing two days earlier. Investigators initially treated it as a missing case and began tracking the victim’s mobile phone. Though the phone was switched off for several days, it was later traced after becoming active, providing the first breakthrough in the investigation.
The case took a dramatic turn on August 12 when Albina’s parents filed a complaint alleging that she had been murdered. Police then re-examined the evidence and questioned Mohan, whose statements reportedly raised suspicion.
“During sustained interrogation, Mohan Khilla confessed to murdering his wife and burying her body in Andhra Pradesh. Based on his disclosure, a police team recovered the body with the assistance of the Andhra Pradesh Police and an Executive Magistrate,” Sunabeda SDPO Sumitra Jena said.
Investigators said Albina and Mohan had been in a relationship for nearly a year. Her family came to know about the relationship only after learning that she was around three months pregnant. Soon after her pregnancy was discovered, she went missing.
On August 14, police exhumed the victim’s body from a burial site near Marupali village under Gajapathinagaram Police Station in Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district. The body was identified by Albina’s father. An inquest and post-mortem examination were conducted, while biological samples were preserved for DNA profiling.
Police also seized the vehicle allegedly used to transport the body, tools used to dig the burial pit, mobile phones, clothing and other forensic evidence believed to be linked to the crime.
Investigators alleged that Mohan murdered Albina before transporting her body across the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border and burying it with the help of Milan Kuldeep in an attempt to destroy evidence.
Both the accused have been produced before a local court and remanded to judicial custody. Police said further investigation is underway to establish the motive behind the crime and gather additional forensic evidence.
