Cuttack: Lipan Sahu, who was arrested on Monday in connection with the death of TV actor and his wife Nikita, was sent to Choudwar jail on Tuesday after the SDJM court rejected his bail plea.
He was arrested the previous evening after several rounds of interrogation during which he reportedly confessed to have had a scuffle with his wife on the terrace from where she fell to her death on Friday night.
Cuttack DCP Akhileshwar Singh had earlier said that the couple had been living separately following problems between Nikita and her mother-in-law and she moved to her parents’ place after the birth of her son.
“Nikita and Lipan had a heated exchange of words when the latter visited her at Mahanadi Vihar. They then went to the terrace of the house. Though her husband denied having pushed her, there was a scuffle between them. Other family members were present in the house and they were alone on the terrace when this occurred,” the DCP said, adding that police arrested him after circumstantial evidence hinted at his involvement in the case.
The actor, who gained popularity with teleserials ‘Tapasya and ACP Nikita’, had died on Saturday morning while undergoing treatment at a private hospital here.
“Chauliaganj police produced Lipan before the SDJM, who rejected his bail and remanded him to judicial custody. He has been booked under Section 302 (Punishment for murder), 498 (A) (cruelty to woman for dowry leading to her death), 306 (Abetment of suicide) and 34 (act done by several people with same intention) of IPC,” said public prosecutor Biswajit Boral.
Lipan counsel Bidyadhar Pradhan said that Nikita’s family are trying falsely implicate him in the suicide case by giving it a murder twist by accusing him of pushing her off the terrace. “We will move the District and Sessions Court for bail. The truth will come to the fore during investigation,” he added.
Lipan’s sister Sonam Sahu said that Nikita had started living separately in a flat in Bhubaneswar, six months after their marriage in 2016. “I know my brother well, he can never do such a thing,” she added.
Another relative of Nipan, Annapurna Sahu, denied the torture charges brought against the Sahu family by Nikita’s father.
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