Bhubaneswar: A 35-year-old man allegedly strangled his mother to death by suspecting her to be a witch in Bangriposi area of Mayurbhanj district in Odisha yesterday night.

Accused Gajendra Murmu of Pattashila village of Kusumbandh panchayat today surrendered before Bangriposi police and confessed to the crime, sources said.

Gajendra’s wife and the couple’s only child had been suffering from certain health complications for last few days. The accused used to blame his mother Karmi Murmu (60) for all the misfortunes to their family by suspecting her to be a witch, sources said.

“Gajendra used to quarrel with his mother on the suspicion that she was a witch. He strangled his mother to death in an inebriated condition after a brief argument with her yesterday night,” said a villager.

Later, Gajendra realized his mistake and surrendered before police, sources said.

Soon a police team led by SDPO Prakash James Toppo and Bangiposi IIC Kamalakant Das rushed to the spot and initiated a probe into the incident.

“We have registered a case in this regard and detained the accused,” said the IIC.