Scribe Found Dead on Railway Tracks in Bhubaneswar; Husband Held

Bhubaneswar: The mutilated body of a woman journalist was found on railway tracks in the Odisha capital Bhubaneswar, a police officer said on Thursday.

Her husband, who was accused of maintaining extramarital relationships with multiple women, was arrested on the charge of abetment to suicide, Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh said.

They were married around four months ago.

Madhusmita Parida, a journalist working for a web channel, was found dead on railway tracks in the Bapuji Nagar area of Bhubaneswar on Wednesday night.

During an investigation, it was found that the relationship between the husband, who is an Air Force employee, and his wife was strained after Parida discovered his alleged extra-marital affairs with multiple women, Singh said.

The husband of the deceased, Sridhar Jena, had threatened to divorce his wife, the police officer said.

After registering a case, the police arrested Sridhar on Thursday for abetting the suicide of his wife, Singh said.

A separate unnatural death case has been registered by the GRP, Bhubaneswar.

Parida had been living in Lingipur area in Bhubaneswar while Sridhar was staying somewhere place.

Late on July 22, Parida went to Dhauli police station and alleged that Jena had returned to Odisha on holiday 12 days ago, but he was ignoring her, the DCP said.

Parida's mother also reached the police station later and they returned home.

On July 23, the couple submitted in writing at the police station that the relationship between them was normal and they had no complaint against each other, the DCP said.

Singh claimed that it appears that the journalist had seen something in her husband's phone and learnt about his relationship with other women, for which she was disturbed.

He further said that the police had seized Jena's mobile phone.

The police will examine CCTV footage to check the movement of Parida to the railway tracks where her body was recovered. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Republic staff and has been published from a syndicated feed)