Odisha court sentences couple to life for killing 15-year-old pregnant daughter

During the investigation, the couple confessed that they killed their daughter because she refused to reveal the identity of the man responsible for her pregnancy

Published on: Apr 19, 2025, 21:00:55 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: A fast-track special court in Odisha’s Jajpur district on Saturday awarded life sentence to a couple for killing their 15-year-old pregnant daughter nine years ago.

The court also slapped a penalty of ₹10,000 on the couple.

The victim, a Class X student in a local school in Laxminarayanpur village of Jajpur, was in a relationship with a married man and was in constant touch with him despite opposition from her parents. In February 2016, when her parents found out that she was pregnant, they beat her to death, burnt her body using kerosene and dumped the ashes at nearby Kharasrota river to destroy evidence.

Their neighbour lodged a first information report (FIR) as she had heard the girl’s cries on the night of the murder.

During the investigation, the couple confessed that they killed their daughter because she refused to reveal the identity of the man responsible for her pregnancy. Police had recovered ashes and charred bone fragments from the couple’s orchard, which were confirmed to be human remains through DNA testing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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