JAJPUR: An elderly woman was killed while her daughter sustained critical injuries after allegedly being attacked by miscreants during a theft attempt at their house in Tigiria village within Balichandrapur police limits of the district in the wee hours of Saturday.
Police identified the deceased as 77-year-old Kaushalya Pati. Her daughter Mamata Pati (55), an ASHA worker, sustained critical injuries and is currently under treatment at the Badachana Community Health Centre (CHC). Police have detained two persons in this connection.
As per sources, Mamata had been living with her mother ever since her husband abandoned her. The incident took place at around 2.30 am. The two miscreants barged into their house while the duo was fast asleep. On hearing the noises, Kaushalya and her daughter woke up only to find the miscreants in their house.
When they tried to resist, the thieves allegedly attacked them with a sharp object. While Kaushalya died on the spot after receiving severe injuries on her head, Mamata too was grievously wounded, police said.
Hearing the commotion, neighbours rushed to the spot but the miscreants had fled by then. The mother-daughter duo was rushed to Badachana community health centre (CHC) where doctors declared Kaushalya dead on arrival.
On getting information, Balichandrapur police reached the spot and started investigation. They have detained two persons in this connection. Balichandrapur IIC Samarjit Nayak said prima facie it appeared the duo are local residents and habitual drunkards.
“They entered the house to commit theft since they knew there was no male member in the family. However, since the mother-daughter duo possibly recognised them during the theft attempt, the culprits decided to kill the former and hence attacked them with some hard object, likely a crowbar,” he added.
When the elderly woman tried to resist them, they hit her on the head with the crowbar leading to her death on the spot. Similarly, when Mamata raised an alarm, they attacked her too, leaving her with critical injuries. By the time the neighbours arrived, they had fled, the IIC said.
“A case has been registered and we have pressed dog squad and scientific team into service to investigate the matter thoroughly. The detainees are being interrogated. We are hopeful to crack the case very soon,” the IIC said.