Odisha Police solved a mysterious murder case involving a 35-year-old woman thanks to a tailor's tag on a blood-stained shirt found near the crime scene. That lead eventually led to the arrest of three people, according to officials.

On December 13, authorities found the woman's body on the banks of the Kathjodi river at the Kandarpur police station in Cuttack, PTI reported.

Since the identity of the dead woman could not be determined and no missing person's report was filed statewide, the police had to recover the weapon used in the crime—a helicopter.

Cuttack DCP Jagmohan Meena termed the case as a major challenge for the investigation team.

Despite tattoos on both hands of the deceased, which did not help with identification, authorities found blood-stained clothing — particularly his shirt and pants — near the riverbank where the body was found.

Meena revealed that the two pieces of clothing had a label called "New Star Tailors".

The police then focused their investigation on the tailor's label, identifying about 10 tailors in Odisha with the same or similar names. They checked these tailors and compared the tag designs to those found on the shirts and pants recovered from the crime scene.

However, no matches were found in Odisha. It was only when a tailor in Ganjam district informed the police that such labels are being used in Gujarat, the investigation took a new direction, the senior police officer said.

Cuttack officials contacted the Gujarat police, who tracked down the tailor in the city of Surat. The tailor's tag number "3833" matched, and investigations revealed that the shirt was stitched for a person named "Babu".

"No other details were available. However, the tailor gave an important clue that he had to return ₹ 100 to the customer 'Babu' but had no change. So he transferred ₹ 100 in one's e-wallet. He contacted that mobile number and 'Babu' He was found to be a friend of," said Meena.

Babu was identified as 27-year-old Jaganath Duhuri, also known as Babu or Bapi of Kendrapada. "He (Babu) was found to be returning to Surat by train. The train was passing through Rayagada when he was caught," Meena added.

During questioning, Babu revealed that he was the dead woman's brother-in-law. He also confessed to having committed the crime with the help of his brother Balaram Duhuri (husband of the woman) and cousin Hapi Duhuri.

According to the police, three people have been arrested.

"Balaram Duhuri was the husband of the deceased woman. The motive behind the crime is a chronic marital dispute between the deceased and her husband. Balaram suspected that the deceased had an extra-marital affair with someone," said DCP Meena.