Retired army doctor hacks wife into 300 pieces

A 71-year-old retired army doctor in Odisha was arrested on Friday for allegedly killing his 62-year-old wife and cutting her body into 300 pieces. A murder case was registered and the accused was sent to court on Saturday evening. The colonel, identified as Somnath Parida, and his wife Ushashri stayed at IRC Village in Bhubaneswar. Their son lives in the US and daughter stays in Dubai.

ACP Santosh Bala confirmed the incident. “The incident took place on June 3 and since then, Parida did not allow anybody to enter his house,” says Bala. The investigating officer reveals that the incident came to notice only after the couple’s children failed to get in touch with their mother for 18 days. They asked their relatives to pay a visit to their house.

When relatives of the deceased reached the house, the doctor said that she had gone to Dubai to stay with their daughter. But when the crowd broke open a window, a stench emanated from the house and they immediately informed the police.

Later, the police broke open the main door and found the iron trunk in which Ushahri’s chopped body parts were stored. The preliminary investigation report says Ushashri’s body was chopped into 300 pieces, dipped in preservative chemicals, kept in 22 small steel containers which were locked in two big iron trunks. The reason for the murder has not been established yet.