Odisha: Retired female health worker hacked to death while resisting robbery in Kalahandi

Bhawanipatna: In a chilling reminder of rising brutality, an elderly woman was hacked to death while trying to foil a loot bid at her home in Dharamgarh in Odisha's Kalahandi district here on Sunday. 

The woman, identified as Suchitra Khuntia, was a retired mid-level health provider residing in Gadiajor village. She had set up her own home in the village and was living alone since last seven to eight years.

As per reports, Suchitra was asleep when a few miscreants broke into her house in a suspected robbery attempt. When she heard noise and woke up, she saw the intruders trying to ransack her place and tried to resist them. However, the effort to stop the theft took a fatal turn when one of the assailants attacked and hacked her with a sharp weapon. They later strangled her, killing her on the spot.

Attackers fled after plundering house

While Suchitra collapsed on the ground, the thugs fled the spot and decamped with her two-wheeler. They later left the vehicle on Biju Expressway and absconded. On Monday morning, locals spotted her body and informed family members and the police.

Preliminary probe revealed that Suchitra, an ANM supervisor, had taken retirement in December 2024. She had recently withdrawn some money from the bank. 

"Her family including her husband and sons live in Bhubaneswar. She was staying here all by herself. We rushed to the spot after her son broke the news. When we entered the house in presence of police, we saw her suitcases and wadrobe locks were broken which indicates dacoity attempt," said Suchitra's relative.

Meanwhile, police said they have started an investigation into circumstances leading to the crime. Probe will reveal whether it is a case of past enmity or plotted theft.

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