Odisha: Man, son arrested for killing mother, sister over property dispute

Sambalpur (Odisha): A man and his son have been arrested for killing his 90-year-old mother and 62-year-old sister in their house in Odisha's Sambalpur district, police said on Thursday.

The burnt bodies of Snehalata Dikshit (90) and her daughter Sairendri Dikshit (62) were found on the first floor of their house in Hatapada area under the jurisdiction of of Sambalpur Sadar police station on Tuesday night.

"Initially, it was treated as an unnatural death case but upon interrogation of the deceased's family members, it was found to be a murder case. Accordingly, Snehalata Dikshit's son Jagannath and grandson Sanket were arrested," Sambalpur Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ajay Mishra told reporters.

"It was a pre-planned murder committed over property dispute. During initial investigation, we found that the two women were first strangulated to death and then their bodies were set on fire. The exact cause of the deaths, however, will be known after receiving post-mortem reports," he said.

Earlier, Snehalata Dikshit's younger daughter Indrani Purohit alleged that her brother killed the duo over land and property dispute.

The 90-year-old woman and her 62-year-old daughter used to stay on the first floor of the two-storey building. Her son Jagannath lived on the ground floor of the building with his family, another police officer said.

On seeing blaze on the first floor of the building between 10.30 pm and 11 pm on November 5, locals had intimated the police.

Police reached the spot and found the charred bodies, following which an investigation was started, the officer said.