Bhubaneswar, Aug. 7: A 65-year-old man was arrested in Nayapalli this morning on charges of killing a 55-year-old widow with whom he was living for the past seven years near Xavier Square in Nayapalli. The woman was murdered last night with a sharp-edged weapon.

The deceased, Basanti Bisoyi, was found lying in a pool of blood near a shop in front of her house last night. Local residents informed the police and a police control room van rushed the injured woman to Capital Hospital where doctors declared her brought dead.

The accused had allegedly slit her throat with a sharp weapon, which is now in the possession of the police. Following a complaint by the son of the deceased, the police conducted raids in the area and arrested Rama Sahu, who worked as a mason and had been living with Basanti for seven years.

Basanti’s son Lochan Bisoyi, who did not stay with his mother, said she had begun staying with Sahu following her husband’s death. The Bisoyi family is originally from Bhanja Nagar area in Berhampur and had been staying in the capital for 20 years.

“My father used to be a jawan in the army. After he retired, my mother used to get a pension of Rs 7,000 a month. Sahu had been demanding a share in the pension every month and this resulted in frequent quarrels,” said Lochan.

“During interrogation, Sahu admitted to having murdered Basanti. We booked him under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and produced him before the court,” said inspector in charge of Nayapalli police station Anup Kanungo.