Odisha: Woman’s mutilated body found, face smashed in

Her body was chopped into six pieces and her face smashed with a heavy object, making identification difficult, police said.

“The woman’s mutilated body was found from under the flyover close to the National Highway. The identity is yet to be ascertained as there were no documents. Her face was brutally smashed and there was just an undergarment on her body,” said investigating officer Pramodini Sahoo, adding, “there are no other injury marks on the body”.

Early on Tuesday, passersby saw a man on a two-wheeler dump the sack on the roadside. He then left the two-wheeler behind and fled, one of the eyewitnesses said. The people suspected it to be animal meat due to the stench and informed the police.

Sahoo said the two-wheeler is the only lead they have so far. “Since it was early in the morning, not many people were around and he managed to flee. Nobody could see his face. We are tracking down the owner of the vehicle and are scanning CCTV footage in the area,” Sahoo said.

The police are also trying to find if the woman was sexually assaulted, the investigating officer said “We are waiting for the postmortem report. Details can only be ascertained then,” Sahoo said.

As part of the efforts to identify the woman, the police have started looking into missing persons reports from the district and nearby districts.