Body of woman, her 4 children found inside well

Koida: Bodies of a woman and her four children were recovered from a well near a house in Indupur village under Koida Police limits of Sundergarh district today. On basis of a complaint filed by the husband of the woman, Sudam Munda, police have detained four persons.

Police recovered the bodies from the well with the help of Fire Services personnel. As per reports, police have identified the woman as Mangiri Munda. Earlier today, Mangiri's husband, Sudam Munda had lodged a missing complaint at Koida Police Station after being unable to trace her wife and their four children. He also brought murder allegations after spotting blood stains and broken bangles of Mangiri inside the house.

“I found blood stains inside the house and spotted marks of dragging of something towards the forest side,” Munda stated.

Local sources suspected that the five could have been killed over sorcery practice. It is believed that a few days back following the death of a child in the village, neighbours of Sudam were suspicious about his family. Yesterday night when Sudam and his father were away from home, four to five persons entered the house and killed the five members and dumped their bodies in a well 200 meters away from the house, informed sources.

After the news surfaced, local Tehsildar also visited the spot to assess the situation today.

“Initially Sudam Munda had lodged a complaint at Koida Police Station alleging that his wife and four children were missing. When Munda, who works as a driver, came back home today morning, he found blood stains. After he was asked, he stated his family had issues with neighbours over sorcery practice," said Abakash Routray, SDPO, Bonai.