A mentally-challenged man allegedly thrashed his mother to death at Makuakateni village under the Kankadahada police station in the district in the wee hours of Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Baidei Sahu (75). The elderly woman tried to stop his son Bishnuprasad Sahu when he was going out of home around 3 am.
Bishnuprasad thrashed his mother with a stick, following which the woman died on the spot. Later, some locals detained Bishnuprasad and informed police.
The accused was detained by police for questioning while the body was sent for postmortem.