BERHAMPUR: Two women, including an ASHA worker, were brutally murdered in separate incidents in Ganjam district on Wednesday night.
Police said, the ASHA worker was hacked to death by her brother-in-law following a land dispute in Chadiapalli village under Jagannathprasad police limits.
The 46-year-old victim Bijayalaxmi Tripathi had a long-standing dispute with her brother-in-law Ramchandra Tripathy’s family, which led to frequent altercations.
On Wednesday evening, a heated argument reportedly broke out between Bijayalaxmi and Ramchandra. In a fit of rage, Ramchandra allegedly attacked her with an axe, killing her on the spot.
Ramchandra was detained and further investigation is underway, police said. He had earlier been arrested for assaulting Bijayalaxmi and was out on bail at the time of the incident.
In the second incident, an elderly woman was reportedly killed by her intellectually disabled grandson in Naikanipalli village under Kodola police limits.
The deceased, identified as Ani Swain (68), was engaged in an argument with her grandson, Chitrasen Swain (19) following which the latter attacked Ani with a wooden plank inside their house and later dragged her onto the road, where he continued the assault. The neighbours rushed to her aid, but she had already succumbed to her injuries.
Police reached the scene and detained Chitrasen. Ani’s body has been sent for postmortem, and an investigation is ongoing.