Rourkela: Police on Wednesday arrested a woman, her mother and paramour for their connection to the murder of her husband last month.

On February 10, Jaladhara Dehury, 33, died under mysterious circumstances.

His wife and mother-in-law claimed that he had died of a heart attack. However, this version of events had raised doubts, and the police initiated a probe.

Dehury, originally from Athmallick, used to work as a driver at Lahunipara. He had been married to Sukumari Patra, 27, of Khuntgaon after a courtship for 13 years. The couple had a 12-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.

However, there were frequent domestic fights between them. Lahunipara police station inspector-in-charge P. Meher said Sukumari managed a stationery store near Khuntgaon village.

On the day of the incident, Dehury returned home in the afternoon for lunch. "After some time, the vehicle's helper, who was waiting in the car, heard cries from the house and rushed inside to find Dehury lying unconscious. Sukumari told him that her husband had a heart attack," said Meher. Dehury was taken to hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Meher said he had received a call suspecting foul play when the police visited the spot. "The family members and Satyanarayana Rout, the woman's partner, tried to convince me that it was a case of heart attack."

The helper was traced and he told us that the accused had told him that they killed Dehury with a metal pipe and threatened him with dire consequences. "Sukumari's paramour threatened to kill him if he told anyone about the incident. The post-mortem also revealed that it was a murder. The three arrested have also confessed to the crime," the police said. They have been booked under sections 302, 120B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.