Police Wednesday recovered the severed head of a tribal woman nearly 40 kilometres from the spot where her headless body was found last week. The discovery came amid days of tension between two neighbouring villages in Malkangiri.

Police said the head was found near a riverbank close to a Kanya Ashram in Rakhelguda during a follow-up investigation. Officers rushed to the spot after villagers alerted authorities.

The torso of the woman had been recovered December 4. The missing head had fuelled fear, anger and suspicions between MV-26 and Rakhelguda villages for several days.

The recovery came hours after tensions between the two communities began to subside. A Joint Peace Committee meeting held at the Malkangiri District Collector’s office saw representatives of both sides agreeing to e

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