Balasore, April 2: An angry mob ransacked the house of a 37-year-old man. The incident happened after it was alleged that he harassed and killed his 22-year-old wife Bharati for dowry.

The incident took place in Patripal village under Kantabania gram panchayat of Remuna block on Wednesday evening. The accused Srikanta Parida fled from his house to escape the mob wrath.

While the mob blocked the road by burning tyres, the local police along with the tehsildar rushed to the spot and pacified the angry crowd. Ramkumar Murmu, the inspector-in-charge of Remuna police station said a case has been registered and the accused arrested.

"While Srikanta said his wife committed suicide, the victim's father Gadadhar Jena alleged she was strangulated as he could not fulfil the dowry demands. He hanged the body to show it as a case of suicide," Murmu said.

"The villagers vented their anger since this was not the first time a mysterious death involved the accused. Around five years ago, his first wife too died under similar circumstances," Murmu said.

Bharati was the second wife of Srikanta and they had a three-year old son.

Bus accident

Thirty two passengers travelling in a Paralakhemundi-Bhubaneswar Hi-Tech bus were injured when the vehicle hit a stationary truck loaded with fish near Dimiria Square in Khallikote early this morning. The accident took place on NH-16, about 55km from Berhampur. Seven critical passengers were shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.