Thursday, February 17 2005 12:03 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Ahmedabad: In a shocking incident, a Human Immuno Deficiency Virus (HIV) positive woman was allegedly beaten to death by her own family members in a village of Valsad District, a senior police official said in Ahmedabad yesterday (Feb 16, 2005).

The 37-year-old victim, Sumitra Patel was allegedly beaten to death three days ago (Feb 12, 2005) by her own brothers and some relatives in Dahrasana village after she had bitten two children in the family and thus instilled fear that the killer virus would spread, Valsad District Superintendent of Police Abhay Chudasma said.

The woman bit the children, as she was constantly being teased by them, he said.

Sumitra was found in a pool of blood with severe head injuries at her father's farm on the outskirts of the village.

"The incident, which happened three days ago, is a shocking one and the accused will be arrested at the earliest. Police will also spread an Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) awareness message in the District so that such incidents are not repeated," Chudasma said.

"The victim's husband had died of Aids in 2003 and she had also contracted the virus. According to investigation, she was mentally upset after this and had bitten two children of the house. This also spread a fear that the children would be infected with the virus," he said.