Man kills wife, daughter-in-law, 4-year-old granddaughter in Odisha; absconding: Police

Police say the accused attacked his wife with a construction pounder after a family dispute; daughter-in-law and 4-year-old granddaughter were also killed in Odisha’s Deogarh

Published on: Mar 12, 2026, 19:36:49 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty, Bhubaneswar

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A 52-year-old man allegedly killed his wife, daughter-in-law, and minor granddaughter late Wednesday night in Gariapali village of Odisha’s Deogarh district, police said, adding that the accused is absconding.

The man allegedly killed his wife, daughter-in-law and 4-year-old granddaughter during a late-night assault in Deogarh village. (Representative photo)

Ramesh Garia and his wife Gul (42) had got into a fight on Monday night, following which he ran after her with a pounder tool that he used in construction work, inspector-in-charge of the Kundeigola police station John Kujur said.

“The woman ran into the room of her daughter-in-law to save herself. Ramesh broke through and gave a blow to her head with the pounder, resulting in her death. When the daughter-in-law tried to save Gul, she was also assaulted with the pounder and died on the spot. In the scuffle, the 4-year-old granddaughter also received grievous injuries and died,” Kujur said.

The other deceased are Lipi Mahakul, his daughter-in-law, and the granddaughter, Kujur added.

The son of the accused, Dhiren Garia, was away when the incident took place. On returning late that night, he discovered the bodies and alerted the Kundeigola police.

Police have recovered the bodies and sent them for postmortem.

Neighbours are being questioned to reconstruct the sequence of events.

Police said the accused often used to threaten his wife with murder. “A family dispute is believed to be the main reason behind the incident. He had a short temper and that often resulted in fights between him and his wife,” said a police officer.

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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