The Shahgarh Police (Sagar district) have successfully solved the investigation into the homicide of a Patan (Jabalpur) based nurse within 24 hours. The primary suspect has been identified as Sushil Athya, a resident of Panagar, Jabalpur, and the maternal cousin of the victim who was in one-sided love with her. It may be mentioned that panic and terror gripped Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district on Wednesday night after a female staff nurse was shot dead right outside the gate of the Shahgarh Community Health Center. The brutal killing, carried out in a crowded area barely 200 metres from the police station, has shaken the entire region and raised serious questions about women's safety. The victim, Deepshikha Chadhar (26), originally from Patan, Jabalpur, had been serving as a nurse at the Shahgarh Community Health Center for approximately two years.

 

On Wednesday evening, at around 8:00 pm, while the victim was enroute to her night shift, she was intercepted by the suspect near the hospital entrance. Following a brief physical struggle, the suspect discharged a firearm three times, two of the bullets struck the victim in her back, penetrating the heart. This resulted into her instantaneous death. The suspect subsequently fled into the nearby forest area to evade capture. The investigation indicated that the motive for the crime was unrequited obsession. Both the suspect and victim completed their nursing course together, while the victim secured a job in the Health Department, the suspect remained unemployed. Additional SP Dr Sanjeev Uikey told that the suspect had frequently pressurised the victim into marriage. Due to persistent harassment, the victim had filed a complaint against him at the Patan police station sometime ago. Although a settlement was reached after an apology, the suspect harbored a continuing resentment.

 

As per report, the suspect reached Shahgarh from Jabalpur on Tuesday and conducted reiky to get familiar with her routine and route, before the attack. On Thursday, the victim's family staged a road blockade on the Sagar-Kanpur Highway, demanding immediate arrest and prosecution of the perpetrator. Police officials managed to pacify the crowd after providing assurances of swift action. Police teams have been deployed to nab the suspect. The teams conduct raids at different places including Panagar, Jabalpur and the residences of the suspect's known associates and relatives.