A retired army doctor was arrested after the recovery of dismembered body parts, believed to be that of his wife's, from his house in the posh Nayapalli area in Bhubaneswar, police said on Saturday.
Somnath Parida, 72, a former lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army, was taken into custody on Friday night after police found the chopped body parts, apparently that of his wife Ushashri, 62, which were kept in metal boxes, they said.
The incident was suspected to have occurred about a fortnight ago. But it came to light on Friday after Parida's brother-in-law visited the house along with other relatives to inquire about his sister, who did not respond to repeated phone calls from their children.
When Parida did not open the door, the relatives opened a window, peeped inside and smelt the stench emanating from the house, police said.
After being informed by them, police swung into action and found that the source of the stink were two tin boxes, which contained small steel containers with human parts preserved inside, they said.
"Body parts were preserved with chemicals in 22 steel containers and kept in two big boxes," said Achyutananda Baliarsingh, assistant director of state forensic science laboratory, who visited the site along with a team of experts.
Stating that Parida himself showed them the places where body parts were kept, he said some body parts kept in a polythene bag were also recovered from a bathroom.
The body parts were seized and sent to the laboratory for tests, Baliarsingh said.
Senior police officials who visited the spot declined to divulge details and said a clear picture would emerge after investigating and the thorough interrogation of Parida.
The residence had been sealed off and senior police officials, along with forensic experts, examined the building thoroughly.
