Sambalpur, Oct. 27: A DNA test of the bones and hair of a 50-year-old man has led to the arrest of the deceased's wife and two sons for allegedly killing him and burying the body on the premises of their house in Bargaon in 2007.
The three accused, Padmini Das, 45, and her sons Babrubahan Das, 26, and Satyaban Das, 23, were arrested.
Police had recovered a few bones and hair of the victim, Kapil Das, in March and had sent to the DNA test laboratory along with blood and bone samples of Babrubahan and Satyaban. The tests confirmed that the body was that of their father.
The police said Kapil was involved in illegal country liquor trade in the village and was arrested in January 2007. After being released on bail after seven months, Kapil used to have frequent tiffs with his wife. Consequently, Padmini and her two sons allegedly conspired and murdered Kapil in October 2007.
The three accused had asked an aide called Titu, who used to stay with them, to dig a pit in the backyard of their house and told him that they would store country liquor in it.
Titu had dug the pit where the three accused had buried Kapil's body and had lodged a missing person's report with the police. Although Titu was suspicious, he had kept quiet. In 2009, following a quarrel over some issue, Titu was driven out of the house.
After that, Titu told a number of people, including the deceased's sister Kanak Das, that Padmini and her sons had killed Kapil and buried him behind their house. Kanak informed the police and a case was registered.
The police dug up the place and found some bones and hair. However, it was impossible to identify the victim. The accused persons had feigned ignorance about the bones. In the absence of evidence, the police could not arrest the three suspects, but sent the bone and blood samples of Babrubahan and Satyaban for DNA tests.
"They have been booked under section 302 (murder), 201 and 34 of IPC. They were arrested and forwarded to court on Monday," said inspector in-charge of Dhama police station Lokesh Sahu.
