A woman was reportedly thrashed to death by locals who suspected her to be a child lifter at Domuhani village of Brahmanigaon gram panchayat under the Bangiriposhi police limits in Mayurbhanj district on Saturday.
Though the identity of the deceased was yet to be established, it was suspected that she was suffering from mental illness.
According to sources, the woman was found roaming in the village under suspicious circumstances late on Friday night whom people took her to be a child lifter. When she did not respond to the people’s queries, a group of villagers doubted her intentions and started beating her black and blue after tying her with a tree. Though she was freed in the night, irritated villagers beat her up again on Saturday morning, leader to her death.
She was speaking Hindi and Bengali, said villagers.
On being informed, the Bangiriposhi police and Baripada SDPO Abhimanyu Nayak reached the spot with a scientific team and started investigation.
The unfortunate incident has now become a matter of discussion in the district.