Woman's body exhumed in Malda

Statesman News Service

MALDA, June 20: Nearly three months after her mysterious death, police exhumed the body of a tribal woman, Aloka Mardi (30) yesterday following a court order. It may be recalled that the victim, a resident of Nildanga village in Malda’s Bamongola police station area, had died under mysterious circumstances on 31 March this year. Although Aloka’s in-laws had claimed that she died of natural causes, the victim’s family members suspected it to be a murder. Aloka’s father Mr Bula Mardi later lodged a complaint with the Bamongola police station alleging that his daughter was being tortured by in-laws. Following the complaint, the Malda court instructed the police on 18 June to exhume Aloka’s body. It was learnt that Aloka’s husband Mr Thakur Hansda, who works in Mumbai, was not present at home on 31 March when his wife died. Aloka was living at the home with her three-year-old son and in-laws. Claiming that she died of illness, Aloka’s in-laws buried her body on 31 March itself.The body has been sent for a postmortem to the Malda district hospital.Commenting on the case, the officer-in-charge of Bamangola police station, Ms Atreyi Sen, said: “Everything would be clear after we receive the postmortem report.”