KENDRAPARA: An 81-year-old woman was allegedly locked up for four hours and thrashed by the president of a woman self-help group (WSHG) as her daughter-in-law failed to repay the loan which she had taken from the group a few months back.
The shocking incident took place at Ganja village under Rajkanika police station on Thursday evening. The octogenarian woman Saraswati Ray of the same village was rescued by the police and now undergoing treatment at the community health centre in Rajkanika.
According to sources, Saraswati’s daughter-in-law Puja had reportedly borrowed Rs 40,000 as loan from the village SHG a few months back. Though the president of the WSHG Gayatri Mohala asked Puja to repay the loan amount, she did not pay any heed and left for New Delhi recently.
Upon knowing this, Gayatri reached Puja’s house on Thursday and demanded money from Saraswati since the latter was not present. When Saraswati expressed her inability to pay the money, Gayatri, in a fit of rage, allegedly locked her up in the house and assaulted her.
The victim’s granddaughter Dipika Ray filed an FIR in the police station on Friday. Acting on the complaint, police has filed a case against Gayatri Mohala under Sections 294, 323, 342 and 506 of IPC. IIC of Rajkanika police station Bilwamangal Sethy said the matter is under investigation.