Odisha woman thrashes girl in her care to death for uprooting sapling

Police said Laxmi Murmu, 30, assaulted the 13-year-old while the girl’s parents were away in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday

Published on: Oct 13, 2023, 09:18:19 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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A woman allegedly thrashed to death a 13-year-old girl in her care for uprooting a marigold sapling in her garden at Udala in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj, police said and added that the accused has been arrested.

Police said they were awaiting the post-mortem report to arrive at a conclusion. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Police said Laxmi Murmu, 30, assaulted the 13-year-old while the girl’s parents were away in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. “On Wednesday evening, the girl’s parents received a call from her neighbour that her daughter uprooted a marigold plant. After returning home on Thursday, when the girl’s parents went to their neighbour’s place to inquire about their daughter, they found her hanging by a saree. Her body bore injury marks,” said Banamali Barik, a local police officer.

The girl’s mother alleged Murmu thrashed her daughter to death and then hung her body to pass it off as suicide. “They thrashed her to death for uprooting marigold and green chilly plants. Can a small child like her die by hanging? They hung the body to make it seem like a suicide case. Had she stolen the plants, they should have waited for us. We would have compensated their loss. Instead, they thrashed her to death. I want justice.”

Police said they were awaiting the post-mortem report to arrive at a conclusion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More