Papadahandi: An elderly woman was killed and her daughter-in-law was brutally assaulted over allegations of sorcery at Gujumapadar village under Papadahandi block in Nabarangpur district late Tuesday night.
According to a source in the police, the woman was murdered by two fellow villagers.
The deceased has been identified as Tulabati Shanta and her injured daughter-in-law as Tikam Shanta. The accused have been identified as Dhanu Shanta and Radha Shanta.
Tulabati was woken up from sleep, called out of the house and hacked to death. Tikam was also assaulted with an axe when she tried to defend her mother-in-law, police said.
Family members of Dhanu and Radha were facing medical conditions for which the duo blamed Tulabati. The village committee had ostracized Tulabati for allegedly practicing sorcery. Things took an ugly turn after the victim approached the police over the issue.
Locals suspect that the victim might have been murdered on suspicion of practicing sorcery and for approaching the cops against the village committee.
On being informed, policemen along with a scientific team rushed to the spot and started an investigation into the incident.
It may be mentioned here that murder and torture over alleged sorcery is nothing new in tribal-dominated districts of the state.
PNN
