The police on Wednesday claimed to have cracked the mystery behind the beheading of a 60-year-old woman in Seraikela-Kharswan district after arresting four people including a teenager, an officer said here.

The arrested people told the police that they had beaten up the woman following an altercation over catching fish in a waterbody, leading to her death.

They then severed the head and dumped it at a place two kilometres away to mislead the police, the officer said. On June 3, the torso of a woman was found lying on the railway track between Bhalukpahari and Bhaduagora villages under Kandra police station of the district, Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Lunayat said.

During the investigation, the police arrested four suspects based on evidence gathered from locals and the technical cell of the department, the SP said.

They told the police that an altercation between the victim Mainu Majhiyan and them had ensued over catching fish from the water body used by women for bathing.

Lunayat said they assaulted the woman and she died.

Based on the lead provided by the accused, the police recovered the head from a forest, while the axe used in the crime was traced from a hilltop, the SP added.

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