A horrifying incident shook Tangarpali village in Jharsuguda district when a mother killed her two children with an axe before attempting suicide late Saturday night.
Police said Ranjita Oram, a resident of Tangarpali Orampada under Jharsuguda Airport Police Station, suspected her husband Sitaram Oram of having an extramarital affair. Frequent quarrels between the couple escalated into tragedy.
On Saturday, around 11:30 p.m., Ranjita locked her husband outside and struck her 10-year-old daughter, Jigyansa and 5-year-old son Bihanshu with an axe. She then tried to end her own life by slitting her throat with a blade.
Sitaram, unable to enter the house, called his elder brother. Together, they broke open a window and rushed inside. They found Jigyansa dead and Bihanshu critically injured. Both children were taken to the district headquarters hospital in ambulances, where doctors declared them dead. Ranjita was shifted to Burla hospital in critical condition for surgery.
Jharsuguda SP Gundala Reddy Raghavendra visited the spot with a scientific team and confirmed that Ranjita remains under treatment. Police continue to investigate whether suspicion of infidelity or domestic quarrels triggered the attack.
