Bhubaneswar, June 22: Somnath Parida’s colleagues find it hard to believe that the man, who arranged a feast for them yesterday at the rural branch of Sum Hospital at Chhatabar on the city outskirts, could have murdered his wife of 42 years at least three weeks ago.

The retired army doctor — arrested last night on suspicion of killing Ushashree, 60, chopping her body into 200-odd pieces and stashing it away in two iron chests to dispose it of — had also celebrated his 72nd birthday with them barely 10 days ago.

“He did not show any nervousness or remorse when I met him during the party at the hospital. He appeared normal and was cordial with everyone,” said P.K. Mohanty, medical superintendent of Sum Hospital. The couple’s children, Lalit and Lekha, are settled in the UAE.

The murder was exposed when Ushashree’s relatives reached the couple’s IRC Village home yesterday after failing to contact her over the past few days. It was Lekha who asked the relatives to check on her mother when Parida kept cooking up excuses about her.

“When I sent my son to check on her at their IRC Village home, he (Somanth) said Ushashree had gone to Dubai to meet their daughter. We became suspicious and tried to enter the house around 9pm yesterday, but he did not open the door. So, we informed the police,” said Ranjan Kumar Samal, the deceased’s brother.

Soon after, the retired army colonel was arrested. The police stumbled upon two iron chests inside which were 22 boxes containing chopped body parts. Parida initially said his wife had committed suicide by banging her head against the wall and then he had chopped her body for cremation at Shirdi in Maharashtra. The cops seized the boxes, a saw, knife and scissors and sent those for forensic test.

But cops dismissed the suicide theory. “We suspect there was a quarrel between the couple over their daughter wanting to come home following which Parida banged Ushashree’s head on the cot till she died. Then he cut her body into pieces,” said the officer.

“During interrogation he did not seem to be bothered or disturbed. We have registered a case,” said additional commissioner of police Santosh Bala, adding that they suspected the incident had taken place on June 3.

Ushashree’s body was sent to SCB for post-mortem. “We would try to ascertain the identity of the victim and then conduct a DNA test. Whether the body was chemically treated and other factors have to be taken into account,” said head of the forensic department Manoj Jena.

The couple’s relatives said Parida and his daughter had not been on talking terms for the past few years. “One day, she was watching TV around 7pm, which is when Parida usually goes to sleep. Angry over the disturbance, he smashed the TV set. Since then their relationship soured,” said Sasmit Samal, a relative.

Other family members and neighbours labelled Parida as “mentally unstable”.

“He was short tempered and an abusive husband. He always dominated my aunt, but she never raised her voice. Even her children wanted her to leave Bhubaneswar and stay with them, but she never thought of abandoning piusa (uncle),” said Ushashree’s nephew Jitswarup Samal, 32.

A neighbour said Parida was extremely unsocial and stubborn. “I had seen him during morning walks. He did not talk to anyone. Whenever the bell at the nearby Hanuman temple rang, he would complain to the police. He would shout at people if they parked their vehicles in front of his house,” said Sandhya Mohapatra, Parida’s neighbour.

Another family member said that after retiring from the armed forces as a lieutenant colonel in 1998, Parida used to stay at home. Last year, he joined as a doctor in the rural service section of Sum Hospital.

Medical superintendent Mohanty said Parida was his junior at SCB and joined the army in 1971 after completing a year as house surgeon. “That year, he got married to Ushashree, an Odissi dancer. They were happy together. I cannot believe that he killed his wife. Maybe, he was under some psychological stress,” said Mohanty.

An expert said the murder could have been a result of the couple not sharing a healthy relationship. “Extreme hatred and desperation to end the relationship might have forced him to kill his wife. With age, the tolerance level, too, decreases. As he was a doctor, he might not have felt any remorse while cutting up her body,” said psychologist Pratap Rath.