Tumkur, Aug 9 (DHNS): A 50-year-old woman was hacked to death with a machete by an unidentified miscreant at her Gandhi Nagar residence in the city on Thursday morning. The miscreant ran out of the house after committing the crime even as residents watched.

The victim is Nirmala (in picture), wife of Suryanarayana Buddeer, manager of the State Bank of Mysore branch at Gulur in the taluk. She died on the spot after she was hit hard with the weapon on her head and neck. Housemaid Jayamma, 48, who worked in the victim’s house, was also attacked by the suspect with the machete. When she ran out of the house, she was chased and attacked again.

Jayamma has suffered serious injuries on her head and neck. She has been shifted to Nimhans in Bangalore for treatment.

The incident occurred at 11 am, when Buddeer had been to work. When one of the neighbours, an eyewitness to the incident, screamed, a crowd gathered near the house. Soon, the suspect threw away the weapon and ran towards the railway line.

Nirmala’s father-in-law Manjunath, a retired headmaster, was in the house at the timeof the incident. Since he is hard of hearing, he could not hear anything. The reason for the murder is yet to be ascertained. Valuables in the house are intact, ruling out murder for gain. It is said the murder may be the result of old enmity.