A 62-year-old retired government employee allegedly stabbed his wife to death in a fit of rage in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, before locking their two-storey house and heading to his daughter’s house to hand over ₹25,000 in cash and gold jewellery.
The accused, Debaraj Sarangi, later walked into a police station and allegedly confessed to killing his wife, Priyambada Sarangi (55), after she tried to stop him from leaving their residence.
According to Airfield police station inspector-in-charge Deepika Debi Roy, an argument broke out when Debaraj attempted to leave the house earlier in the morning.
“During the altercation, Debaraj assaulted his wife with fist blows and strangled her, rendering her unconscious. He then repeatedly stabbed her in the face and neck with a kitchen knife, leading to her death due to excessive bleeding,” the police inspector said.
After the attack, Sarangi collected the cash and ornaments but did not disclose the crime to his daughter when handing them over at her Patrapada residence.
A police team rushed to the house and found the woman lying in a pool of blood inside a bedroom. Police have seized a blood-stained knife and two mobile phones from the spot.
Officials said Sarangi was suffering from diabetes, hypertension and liver cirrhosis, and was under mental stress. His daughter told police that he hadn’t been getting much sleep in the days leading up to the incident.
A case has been registered under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for murder.
