Sambalpur: A 60-year-old woman and her 35-year-old daughter were hacked to death in Odisha’s Sambalpur district allegedly over suspicion that they were practising witchcraft, police said Monday.
The incident took place in Giripali Khadiapada village under the jurisdiction of Sason police station area when they were asleep in the front yard of their house Sunday night, Sambalpur Additional Superintendent of Police Ajay Kumar Mishra told reporters after visiting the spot.
Preliminary investigation suggests that a local youth, identified as Ajay Pradhan, allegedly attacked Urkuli Patra and her married daughter Lilima Joda with an axe, resulting in their deaths on the spot, he said.
Pradhan had himself informed the police about the incident and during investigation, police suspected that he was the accused, the officer said, adding the murder weapon was found near the bodies.
The killings are suspected to have been linked to the accused’s suspicion that the mother-daughter duo practised witchcraft, the officer said, adding that, however, he is being questioned to ascertain the motive and sequence of the crime.
Police, along with a scientific team, reached the spot to collect evidence, and further investigation is underway, he added.
Sources said that Lilima had been living at her parental home for quite some time.
