Odisha woman’s body dug out 26 days after she was killed by her boyfriend

Police said Sahaja Alda, 26, allegedly killed the woman in Odisha’s Keonjhar suspecting she was in a relationship with another man

Updated on: Jun 8, 2026, 10:55:46 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Twenty-six days after a 21-year-old woman went missing from Odisha’s Keonjhar district, police on Sunday said they exhumed her remains from a forest after a man she was in a relationship with confessed to having murdered her.

Police have seized the motorcycle and the woman’s scarf, slippers, a sharp weapon, and other incriminating material. (Representational/AI-generated image)

Police said Sahaja Alda, 26, allegedly killed the woman suspecting she was in a relationship with another man. Ashok Nayak, a local police officer, said the woman left home on May 11 without her mobile phone. When her family checked her phone records, they found she had received the last call from Alda.

Alda initially denied any knowledge of her whereabouts as the family approached the Keonjhar police superintendent seeking intervention over alleged police inaction, as the woman remained untraceable, and her mother lodged a complaint on May 14.

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Police arrested Alda on Sunday after he confessed to killing the woman. Police said Alda led them to a pit inside the forest, around five km from the scene of her murder, where the remains were recovered. The exhumation was conducted in the presence of a magistrate with forensic teams assisting.

Police said Alda grew suspicious of the 21-year-old’s social media activity. On May 11, Alda allegedly called her to meet him near a football field, around half a kilometre from their village. Alda allegedly killed her by repeatedly stabbing her in the neck.

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Police said Alda initially abandoned the body before returning later. He allegedly disposed of his bloodstained clothes near a dam, took the body on his motorcycle to the forest, buried it in a pit, and hid the woman’s belongings and the murder weapon separately.

Police have seized the motorcycle and the woman’s scarf, slippers, a sharp weapon, and other incriminating material.

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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