Bhubaneswar: The police have collected some vital clues in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a 39-year-old married woman in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.

The cops reportedly came to know that the woman and her male friend had checked into a lodge at Baripada town on June 26 (Friday).

They got some important clues in the case after examining the CCTV footage from the lodge.

“The CCTV footage clearly revealed that the woman was in good health while entering the lodge. But, she was unwell and being carried by some people while leaving the lodge,” said a source.

The woman, a resident of Betnoti area in Mayurbhanj, 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 Mayurbhanj 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 Saturday 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.