Dhenkanal: A nun was reportedly hacked to death on the premises of a mutt at Dandaragadi near Kankalunda village under Gondia police limits in this district Saturday.
The victim was identified as Goli Sahu (60) alias Golap, a native of Bainsia village. She also doubled up as a traditional healer and as a moneylender, locals claimed.
The matter came to the fore after a man visiting the mutt to cure his son of illness noticed the body lying in a pool of blood and raised an alarm.
The incident has spread shockwaves among the people in the area even as the villagers seem to be tightlipped on the matter.
On being informed, Sadar sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Sk Abdul Karim, Gondia sub-inspector Jhunarani Sahu and Joranda officer-in-charge Binay Kumar Sahu rushed to the spot and recovered the mutilated body. The police also seized a bloodstained spade from the mutt premises.
Preliminary police inquiries suggested that the nun might have been hacked to death by miscreants over past enmity. A forensic team was also pressed into service, police said.
However, the police despite their best efforts failed to get any clue about the killing.
Police said Goli had built the mutt at Dandaragadi and was living in it for the last several years. The body was sent for post-mortem in the presence of a magistrate and an investigation launched, the police said.