Thirty-three people were arrested in Odisha's Ganjam district on Thursday for allegedly killing a 50-year-old woman after her husband filed a police complaint that they were being "tortured", police said.
The incident happened in Madhurachua village in Kabisurya Nagar police station area, they said.
Angry villagers attacked the house of Yudhistir Nayak on Wednesday night after he filed a police complaint against one Butu Nayak for allegedly abusing and attacking him, police said.
While Yudhistir and his son could manage to flee the house during the attack, his wife Jhunu could not. When her returned home along with police, they found the body of his wife.
The mob also attacked two other villagers, Mahiraju Nayak and Bishnu Nayak -- identified as the leaders of the village, for not preventing Yudhistir from filing the police complaint, police said.
Police later rescued them and admitted them to a hospital. Their condition is stated to be stable, police said.
Armed forces were deployed at the village and the situation is under control, said Rajani Kant Samal, the sub-divisional police officer of Purushottampur.
Thirty-three people, including 20 women, were arrested, he said.
The villagers had targeted Yudhistir's family over a month ago suspecting them of practicing witchcraft.
They blamed Yudhistir's family for the deaths of three persons in a short span of time.
Due to timely intervention, the issue was resolved, said Prabhat Sahoo, the inspector-in-charge of Kabisurya Nagar police station.
Police, however, said Wednesday night's attack was not related to the allegation of witchcraft practice.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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