A Class VIII student and her two male friends were arrested on Friday (May 16, 2025) in Odisha’s Gajapati district for allegedly murdering the woman who had adopted her as a newborn. Police said the girl, along with her friends, smothered 54-year-old Rajalaxmi Kar at her rented home in Paralakhemundi on April 29. The motive appeared to be Rajalaxmi’s disapproval of the girl’s romantic involvement with the two young men, and a desire to claim her property.

Following the murder, the accused fabricated a story claiming Rajalaxmi had died of a heart attack. They cremated her body the next day in Bhubaneswar, where some of her relatives lived. "Given Rajalaxmi’s history of heart problems, her family—including her brother—believed the explanation,” said Gajapati SP Jatindra Kumar Panda.

The crime came to light after the girl’s uncle discovered her hidden mobile phone in Bhubaneswar. It contained chats with her two accomplices that revealed the plot to kill Rajalaxmi and steal over 70 grams of gold jewellery and ₹60,000 in cash.

Siba Prasad Mishra, Rajalaxmi’s brother, then filed an FIR at the Paralakhemundi police station last Wednesday. Investigations led to the arrest of 21-year-old temple priest Ganesh Rath, 20-year-old Dinesh Sahu, and Rajalaxmi’s 13-year-old adopted daughter. Rajalaxmi had taken in the girl after finding her abandoned on a roadside in Bhubaneswar. The two had been living in Paralakhemundi after the girl enrolled at Kendriya Vidyalaya.

According to police, Rath manipulated the girl into murdering Rajalaxmi so they could take her assets and pursue their relationship. On the night of April 29, the girl allegedly gave Rajalaxmi sleeping pills. Once she was unconscious, she called in Rath and Sahu, who then suffocated her using pillows. They later took her to the hospital, where she was declared dead.

Before the murder, the girl had handed over some of Rajalaxmi’s gold jewellery to Rath, who pawned it for approximately ₹2.4 lakh. He reportedly used the money to buy a motorcycle and travel across Odisha.

Police recovered three mobile phones with incriminating messages, two pillows used in the murder, and about 30 grams of the stolen gold jewellery during the investigation.