Body of 17-year-old girl exhumed in Nayagarh, Odisha, India: Three suspects arrested

Young girl
Age: 17
Murdered: November 2023
Residence: Sorada, Odisha
Origin: India
Children: none
Suspects: Father Biprabara Nayak and relatives

Neighbors alerted the police after the family of a 17-year-old girl from the village of Sorada in Nayagarh, a district in the state of Odisha in eastern India, went missing on Friday, November 10, and their house was locked. When neighbors asked the father, Biprabara Nayak, about the whereabouts of the girl on that fateful Friday afternoon, he avoided the subject. This behavior raised suspicions among the neighbors, who informed the police. The police initiated an investigation and later arrested three relatives of the girl. These suspects led the police to the buried body in the Phiringia area of Kandhamal.

On Saturday, November 11, the body was exhumed in the presence of the prosecutor. After a post-mortem, the body was handed over to the family.

While the exact cause of death is still unknown, the police suspect it is related to the girl's relationship with a young man. A case has been registered under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (destruction of evidence), and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The girl's father is on the run.

What is an honour killing?

An honour killing is a murder in the name of honour. If a brother murders his sister to restore family honour, it is an honour killing. According to activists, the most common reasons for honour killings are as the victim:

refuses to cooperate in an arranged marriage.
wants to end the relationship.
was the victim of rape or sexual assault.
was accused of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

Human rights activists believe that 100,000 honour killings are carried out every year, most of which are not reported to the authorities and some are even deliberately covered up by the authorities themselves, for example because the perpetrators are good friends with local policemen, officials or politicians. Violence against girls and women remains a serious problem in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Serbia and Turkey.