Bhadrak, Jan 30: Tension prevailed in Guhalia village under Dhamnagar police station limits after the suspicious death of a married woman, a source said on Friday.

The deceased was identified as Ranjita Khatua (28), wife of Abhay Rout from Gohalia village under Niragundi panchayat in Bhandaripokhari block. Ranjita was the daughter of Ananta Charan Khatua from Chandeswar village under Bhagabanpur panchayat in Dhamnagar.

According to the source, Ranjita was married to Abhay Rout about four years ago. After marriage, the couple reportedly had occasional family disputes, which were resolved from time to time. Abhay is reported to be working and staying in Bhubaneswar.

On Thursday, the couple celebrated their daughter’s birthday at their residence. Abhay had reportedly come home for the occasion and the event was celebrated in a grand manner. However, after the celebration, an argument allegedly broke out between the couple over past issues, members of the woman’s parental family claimed.

The woman’s family alleged that Ranjita was killed and an attempt was made to give the incident a different turn. Acting on the information, Dhamnagar police reached the spot on Friday morning and recovered the body.

The father of the deceased woman said, "Ranjita's mother-in-law used to torture her a lot. After last night's birthday celebration, there might have been some quarrel between Ranjita and her in-laws. They killed my daughter and kept her body inside a bathroom to frame it as a case of suicide. There are visible marks of assault all over her body."

Police registered a case on allegations of murder and initiated an investigation. Following the incident, members of the woman’s in-laws’ family were found to be absconding, the source added.

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Further investigation is underway.