Bhawanipatna: In a shocking incident that raised concerns over the safety of elderly individuals living alone, a retired Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) supervisor was found murdered at her residence in Gadiajor village under Dharamgarh police limits in Odisha’s Kalahandi district on Monday morning.
The victim, identified as Suchitra Khuntia (60), had retired in December 2024 from Parla Hospital after years of service in the health sector. She had been residing alone in the village for the last seven to eight years, while her husband and sons lived in Bhubaneswar.
According to sources, miscreants broke into her house at around 8 pm last night during a temporary power outage in the village. Khuntia, who was asleep, awoke to the disturbance and confronted the assailants as they ransacked her belongings. In a brutal escalation, the attackers allegedly used a sharp weapon to hack her before strangling her, leading to her death. The assailants looted all valuables, including the gold she was wearing, and fled with her two-wheeler, which was found abandoned on the Biju Expressway. The vehicle had reportedly run out of fuel.
It was the abandoned scooter, which brought the incident to her family’s notice after a former colleague of Suchitra altered her husband. “Her suitcases and wardrobe locks were broken open, clearly pointing to a robbery attempt. She had been living independently here for several years,” a relative of the deceased told reporters.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the motive could be linked to a recent bank withdrawal by the victim, though police are probing all possibilities, including any personal grudges. Footage of CCTV cameras along the escape route of the suspects are being examined to determine their identity.
