6 Members of a Family Hacked to Death in Keonjhar

Keonjhar: In a ghastly incident, six members of a tribal family including a couple and four children were today found hacked to death in their house at a village in Odisha's Keonjhar district, police said.

The incident at Munda Sahi in Lahanda village under Joda police station jurisdiction came to light this morning and it appears a group had attacked the victims with sharp weapons,

Sub-Divisional Police Officer (Badbil), A P Swain said.

Two other critically injured members of the family were also found lying in a pool of blood and the police rushed them to the hospital for treatment, the SDPO said, adding their condition was stated to be critical.

Preliminary inquiry indicated the attackers might have committed the crime on suspicion that the family members were practising sorcery and superstitious belief appeared to have led to the incident, he said.

However, thorough investigation is in progress to identify the culprits and ascertain the circumstances that led to the incident, Mr Swain said adding the bodies were sent to the district headquarters hospital for post-mortem.

Forensic team and experts have also been sent to the site as part of the investigation, he said.