Son held 2 months after mother’s body found buried in kitchen

Bhubaneswar: Police on Tuesday arrested a 42-year-old man who had been on the run since allegedly murdering his 65-year-old mother and burying her body in the kitchen of their rented house in Puri city in Aug. Police, however, are yet to unravel the motive of the crime.

Accused Madan Gajanan Dalai was arrested at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, where he had been working at a snack stall under a false identity to evade arrest, police said. The body of his mother, Annapurna Dalai (65), was recovered by Kumbharapada police on Aug 24 after they broke open a cement structure following complaints of a foul stench from house owner Rabi Narayan Sahu.

The mother-son duo had been living in the rented house since March. Police suspect Dalai murdered his mother on Aug 20, concealed her body inside a cement enclosure the following day and fled the house on Aug 23.“After leaving Puri, he reportedly travelled by bus to Bhubaneswar and took a train to Raipur via Titlagarh.

He subsequently travelled to Kolkata and Mumbai before reaching Jamshedpur,” Puri superintendent of police (SP) Prateek Singh said. According to police sources, the accused worked at roadside eateries in Mumbai and later went to Kolkata to meet his sister.

“He subsequently moved to Jharkhand, apparently to evade arrest. Acting on our field intelligence, analysis of CCTV footage and other technical inputs, we arrested him,” the Puri SP said.

Police said the circumstances leading to the alleged murder remain mysterious. During interrogation, Dalai reportedly claimed that his mother had died of natural causes and that he concealed her body afterwards.

Police, however, did not buy his story and suspect that he was misleading investigators.“The motive and sequence of events leading to the crime are yet to be ascertained. We will take him on police remand for further questioning,” the SP said.

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Key quotes

• “After leaving Puri, he reportedly travelled by bus to Bhubaneswar and took a train to Raipur via Titlagarh. He subsequently travelled to Kolkata and Mumbai before reaching Jamshedpur,”

• “He subsequently moved to Jharkhand, apparently to evade arrest. Acting on our field intelligence, analysis of CCTV footage and other technical inputs, we arrested him,”

• “The motive and sequence of events leading to the crime are yet to be ascertained. We will take him on police remand for further questioning,”