Woman officer killed in Haldia IOC quarters
Kolkata   30-Jul-2011

An administrative officer of the hospital at IndianOil’s Haldia refinery was found murdered inside her flat on Thursday night. A sniffer dog brought in after the discovery of the decomposed body led investigators straight to the opposite flat. The neighbour, also an IOC employee, is now being questioned.

Martina Aind, 54, lived alone in the married hostel within the refinery complex. She had joined the hospital a year ago. Husband Sushil is a manager at SBI’s Barauni branch and daughter Sumana a firstyear student of a reputed college in Kolkata.

Sumana, who had visited her mother a week ago, last spoke to her around 9pm on Tuesday. Through Wednesday, she kept trying to contact her mother but failed. When her mother didn’t answer the call even on Thursday morning, Sumana set out for Haldia after college. She reached there late in the evening only to find her mother’s flat locked from outside and a stench emanating from inside.

Sumana immediately raised an alarm and called up her father at Barauni. The Haldia police station was informed and policemen broke open the flat’s door. Martina was found lying on the bed with a bed sheet wrapped around her. She had stab wounds on the back of her head. There were two empty cups on a table and a black cap, which Sumana said didn’t belong to anyone in her family.

Haldia probe focus on neighbours

The probe into the murder of Martina Aind, who was found dead in her flat in the officers’ hostel of the IOC refinery here, was taken over by the CID on Friday. A team arrived with a sniffer dog and the dog picked up a trail that led to the flat opposite Martina’s. Police then summoned the flat’s resident, Rajesh Roy for questioning.

SDPO Amitabha Maity said the focus is on neighbours as it is difficult for an outsider to breach the security. There might have been a scuffle between Martina and her killers. Police suspect that they had chatted with her over tea and then killed her.