Suspected rape, murder victim denied last rites in Odisha’s Sambalpur

Superstitious villagers refused to allow the cremation of an alleged rape victim in their village, forcing the police to take the body 50 km away

Villagers in Odisha’s Sambalpur district denied an alleged rape victim final rites in her own village.

On August 30, the woman had gone to nearby nullah to take bath in Sahebi village under Naktideul police station limit of Sambalpur. When the woman did not return for long time, family members lodged a complaint about her missing with the local police.

Subsequently, her unclothed body was discovered in a pit within the Jharbeda forest, about one kilometre from the village on September 1. The outraged villagers took to the streets, alleging that the woman had been raped and murdered. The local police arrested Sisir Behera, a resident of the same village, and he was subsequently brought before the court.

The body was taken to V.S.S. Medical College Hospital, Burla for postmortem. “When the woman had gone for bathing to the nullah, the accused had hit her and died after falling in water. In the night, the accused had shifted the body to nearby forest,” Albinius Kerketa, Additional Superintendent of Police, said.

Sub Divisional Police Officer Prasant Meher said, “There was no sign of sexual assault on her body. However, investigation is going on to ascertain the fact.”

The struggle for the deceased woman’s family, however, began when it was time to perform her last rites. Villagers, driven by superstition and assuming she was a rape victim, refused to allow her to be cremated within their area. The police and the family then took the body to a neighbouring village, only to face the same resistance. A villager explained that they believed if a woman was raped and murdered, her spirit could cast a curse on the children. Finally, the body was consigned to flame in Rairakhol, about 50 km from Saheb village on September 3 after all persuasions by police went futile.