Bhubaneswar, April 10: Mahila police arrested a contractor, who manages a few bicycle stands in the city, for allegedly torturing his wife and deserting his family to marry another woman.
The other woman, who claimed to be married to the accused, was also arrested.
The police identified the accused as Manas Swain, 45, of Unit-I, and the arrested woman as Nibasi Sahu, 40, of the same locality. Manas also manages the Unit-I market bicycle stand, which is one of the largest here.
Officials said the accused is married to Santilata Swain. The couple have four daughters. The eldest studies Plus III at a city women’s college.
Santilata, who lodged a complaint with Mahila police yesterday, alleged that her husband had been torturing her and their four daughters for the past few years, because he wanted to marry another woman.
When Santilata learnt that Manas planned to elope with the other woman on Tuesday, she called the police and intercepted Manas. The accused then allegedly assaulted and injured her.
Officials at Mahila police station said they were in a fix when, during interrogation, both women claimed to be married to the accused.
Santilata said she had been married to the accused for nearly 20 years. The other woman said the same.
“We questioned other members of Manas’s family. His friends and neighbours here said Santilata is his wife. Manas’s children corroborated this. We registered a case and arrested him and the other woman who claimed to be his wife,” said Sarojini Nayak, inspector in charge of Mahila police station.
The cops charged the duo under several sections of the Indian Penal Code relating to cruelty.
In another case, the Mahila police got a complaint about a student of a private engineering college kidnapping a girl studying for a diploma from the same college.
A senior police officer said that though it seemed that the boy and girl had eloped, they filed a missing report following a complaint from the girl’s mother. “We are trying to find the girl first and then we will decide what to do,” said the officer.
