On December 13, the body of a woman was found on the banks of the Kathajodi river, an arm of the mighty Mahanadi, in Odisha’s Cuttack district. There was no clue on who she was — no missing persons report had been filed in the city that matched her description; there were no witnesses. But there was a peculiar object near the body: a pair of dark grey pants with blood spattered over it.
On checking the pockets, police found the receipt of a tailoring shop, with body measurements of a man scribbled on it. It is this piece of paper that connected the Odisha police with its counterparts some 1,600 kms away in Gujarat’s Surat, and led to the arrest of the accused two weeks later.
On Thursday, Jagannath Duhuri was caught at Odisha’s Rayagada railway station. He was on his way back to Surat, where he worked for a powerloom factory.
Tracking down the accused through one tailoring receipt was no mean feat for the police, which had to employ all means at their disposal — social media, technical surveillance, boots on the ground — to bring the case to a conclusion.
The deceased woman was identified as the accused’s sister-in-law Padmabati. The woman’s husband and Duhuri’s brother, Balram, along with their cousin Hapi Duhuri, from Kendrapara in Odisha, have been arrested.
Murder by the river
Acting on a tip-off, Cuttack district police found the body of the woman on the banks of Kathajodi river in the Kandarpur police station area on December 13. The body bore several injuries inflicted by a sharp weapon.
Police seized a pair of blood-stained pants and a shirt found at the spot. On examining them, a receipt was found bearing the name “New Star Tailors” with a serial number “3833” and certain measurements.
The Cuttack police put out a photo on social media with a message: “Please find this tailor to detect an important case.”
Deputy commissioner of police, Cuttack, Jagmohan Meena told The Indian Express, “We also physically checked with gram panchayats of neighbouring villages. Our teams checked missing persons list from police stations in other districts but could not get a breakthrough… local media also put out the news on their YouTube channels. After a few days, someone wrote in the comments section that there was such a tailor in the Bhanjanagar area in Ganjam district.”
The police contacted the tailor in Bhanjanagar who said such receipts were used by tailors in Surat, where he used to work before returning to his native place.
Meena called up Surat police commissioner Anupam Singh Gahlaut and shared the details, including the receipt.
There was one problem, though — Surat has 14 shops called New Star Tailors.
14 shops, and an e-wallet
Talking to The Indian Express, Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB) police inspector R R Suvera said, “These shops are situated in different parts of Surat such as Varachha, Sachin, Pandesara, Udhna, Godadadara, Limbayat etc. Our team finally reached a shop at Ambanagar in Limbayat.”
At this shop, police found the carbon copy of the same receipt in the billbooks. The customer’s name was mentioned as “Babu”.
Police then checked the CCTV footage and found the image of the suspect. “The shop owner told us that Babu came to his shop on the morning of December 10 with a length of fabric to get the pants stitched, telling him that he needed it urgently the same evening. On receiving the pants later in the day, he handed the tailor a `500 note,” said inspector Suvera.
The stitching charge was `400 and the tailor did not have change to return. “Babu then shared the mobile number of a friend and the tailor sent the remaining amount in this e-wallet,” said police.
Surat police tracked down the friend and questioned him; he said Babu alias Duhuri had gone to his native place in Odisha. Police culled out his photo from the CCTV footage and shared his mobile phone number with Odisha police.
DCP Meena put the phone under surveillance. He said, “We found that the suspect was travelling in a train to get back to Surat. We intimated our team who swiftly acted to catch Duhuri when the train halted at Rayagada railway station.”
Jagannath Duhuri, 27, was brought to Cuttack district where, during interrogation, he confessed to have committed the murder with his brother Balram (32) and their cousin Hapi (20). They are all residents of Bhitara Solaba village.
DCP Meena said, “The deceased was later identified as Padmabati (35), the wife of Balram. After primary investigation, it was found that Balram suspected her of having an affair. Balram, along with his brother and cousin, decided to kill her.”
Sources said it looks like the man was carrying a change of clothes and removed the garments he was wearing after they got stained with blood. Investigation in this regard is underway, they added.
Cuttack police said that the deceased was the mother of a three-year-old girl. The three accused were arrested under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 103(1) that pertains to murder.
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