Rourkela: Police have arrested two persons for murdering an LIC agent at Sector-6 in the city on February 15.

The accused identified as Sagar Mukhi and Bhole Mukhi, both in their mid 20s, had killed 47-year-old Sujata Mohapatra, who used to stay with her parents at Koel Nagar.

The police have claimed robbery to be the motive behind the murder.

Sagar was known to Sujata as he was one of her old policy holders.On February 15, Sujata was asked to come near Jagannath Leprosy Colony near the Tara Tarini slum. As Sujata was Sagar's acquaintance, she immediately came to the designated place in the evening without suspecting any foul play.

"Sagar was known to her as he was her policy holder," said assistant superintendent of police Durga Prasad Dash.

"As soon as she reached the spot, Sagar and Bhole attacked her with an iron rod and a bhojali," Dash said. Bhole finally slit her throat to confirm that she was dead. Later, the duo decamped with Rs 1,200 in cash that she was carrying in her purse and also her mobile phone.

During investigation, the police tracked the duo by tracing the location of Sujata's phone.

The police said the motive behind the killing was money. Sagar lost his mother-in-law only a few days before committing the crime. He was in urgent need of money to perform the last rituals of his mother-in-law. "He needed about Rs 5,000 to spend on the rituals. Sujata, therefore, became an easy target for them as she often used to carry cash in order to pay the premium dues," said Dash.