Software Sweta death case: Deceased’s boyfriend arrested for abetting suicide

BHUBANESWAR, FEB. 16: More than five months after a woman software engineer was found hanging in an apartment in Bhubaneswar, the Odisha police on Thursday arrested the boyfriend of the deceased in the early hours on Thursday.

Soumyajit Mahapatra, the alleged boyfriend of deceased software engineer Sweta Utkal Kumari, was held in Sambalpur.

A team from Chandrasekharpur police station in Bhubaneswar reached Bareipalli police station at around 4am and then along with a team of the said police station the team proceeded to Soumyajit’s house at Bansidhar Nagar in Sambalpur at around 4.30 am and arrested him.

As per sources, the arrest was made after the bail petition of Soumyajit was rejected by Supreme Court and High Court.

Notably, Sweta, a resident of Bhadrak district, worked with a reputed IT company in Bhubaneswar. She was staying at Garden Apartment in Infocity area in Bhubaneswar. On Friday night (August 19, 2022), after her family members could not contact her on her mobile phone despite repeated attempts, they sought the help of Chandrasekharpur police.

Later, a team from the police station visited the apartment, gained entry after breaking the door of the room, only to find Sweta’s body hanging from the ceiling fan.

While the police had then said Sweat’s death was a suicide case, her family members had held her boyfriend Soumyajit, accusing him of blackmailing her.

Sweta’s father had then alleged, “He (Soumyajit) had joined the software company with my daughter in 2018. But currently, he is pursuing his Management degree in an institute in Bhubaneswar. He harassed my daughter so much that she had to end her life.”