Bhubaneswar: A 39-year-old married woman was allegedly raped and murdered in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.

The incident took place in Betnoti area of Mayurbhanj. The police have launched a probe into the incident and detained the male friend of the woman for questioning.

As per reports, the married woman had left home to buy sari and other dress materials from a nearby market Friday morning.

However, she did not return home till the evening. She even did not respond to phone calls from her family members.

Suspecting something unpleasant, the woman’s relatives launched a search to trace her. Around the midnight, the woman’s male friend informed her family members that she was admitted to the Baripada District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) in a critical condition and she died while being treated at the health facility.  

On being informed, Betnoti police reached the hospital today morning and sent the body for postmortem before launching a probe into the incident.

Preliminary investigation suggests that the woman sustained critical injuries in her private parts. It is suspected that someone might have inserted a liquor bottle or any other hard object into the woman’s private parts after sexually assaulting her, reports said.

The woman’s husband lodged a complaint with the police and alleged that she was raped and killed by her male friend.

On the basis of the complaint, the police registered a case and detained the woman’s male friend, identified as Jitendra Mohanty (35) of Garudabasa village, for interrogation.