A class 8 student from Odisha, India, along with her two male companions, has made shocking headlines for allegedly killing her adoptive mother. The trio were arrested, their dark motives driven by the mother’s opposition to her daughter's relationships, along with the desire to gain control of her property.
The victim, Rajalaxmi Kar, was allegedly suffocated to death with pillows on 29 April at her rented home in the Gajapati district.
The 54-year-old found the baby girl on a roadside in Bhubaneswar nearly 13 years ago with her husband. Gajapati Superintendent of Police, P Jatindra Kumar Panda, said that “the couple, who were childless, took the baby in and raised her as their own. Rajalaxmi's husband passed away a year later. Since then, she had single-handedly raised the girl.”
Several years ago, Rajalaxmi moved to Paralakhemundi to provide a better future for her daughter, where she would study at Kendriya Vidyalaya. The woman devoted her life to the girl, but things escalated when the girl began seeing older men. She befriended Ganesh Rath, a temple priest, and Dinesh Sahu, both of whom she entered into relationships with. Her mother strongly objected to the relationships, which ultimately drove the trio to plot the mother’s murder.
According to Panda, “The three accused smothered Rajalaxmi with pillows while she was at home. After killing her, they tried to cover it up.”
The girl told neighbours and friends that her mother had supposedly died of a heart attack. She then took the body to Puri for cremation in an attempt to hide evidence before any questions were raised.
However, Rajalaxmi’s relatives, particularly her brother, grew suspicious and filed a complaint at the Paralakhemundi police station.
During the investigation, police unravelled the horrifying case and the tragic murder of the mother. Evidence was collected, which included “three phones with incriminating messages, two pillows used in the murder, and about 30 grams of stolen gold ornaments.”
As per police reports, the girl had earlier handed some of her mother’s gold ornaments to Rath, who allegedly pawned them for around Rs 2.4 lakh (approx. BD1,000).
According to police, all three suspects have been arrested.
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