Balasore: A 14-year-old differently-abled boy was allegedly murdered by his father and step-mother and his body was dumped under a bridge under Sahadevkhuntha police limits in Balasore district on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as Omprakash Jena, son of Ganesh Chandra Jena of Khantapada.
The incident came to light after Omprakash’s paternal aunt Chandramani Das lodged a complaint at Sahadevkhuntha Police Station, Based on the complaint, police initiated a probe and arrested Ganesh and his second wife Pratima Patra.
Reportedly, Ganesh was staying with his first wife and differently-abled son at Chandmari Padia where he was helping his mother and sister Chandramani in running an eatery. All of them were taking care of Omprakash who was bed-ridden since birth.
After Ganesh’s first wife left him, he married Pratima and started working elsewhere in Nilagiri. However, Chandramani and her mother used to visit Omprakash regularly to enquire about his well-being. They came to know that Pratima is not taking proper care of the child. In the meantime, Pratima gave birth to a son.
One day, Chandramani called Ganesh and asked about Omprakash when he said that he has sent him to a centre for differently-abled children in Bhubaneswar. But Chandramani and her mother were suspicious. On inquiry, they found Ganesh was not in his house and they later found him at his in-law’s house.
With the help of some well-wishers, Ganesh and Pratima were brought back to Chandmari Padia and interrogated. Finally, they confessed that they have murdered him and dumped his body. According to their information and on the complaint of Chandramani, the police recovered the body and sent it for autopsy.
