A 40-year-old woman was allegedly beaten to death by her two minor sons with a crowbar in an apartment here on Wednesday night.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Bhubaneswar) Umashankar Das told reporters, “The lady identified as Binodini Mishra was murdered in an apartment under Air Field Police station area. She was killed around 11.30pm on Wednesday.

“Police reached the spot and started investigation. Her two minor sons were involved in the incident. We have detained them. Family dispute is one of the major reasons for the crime. We have seized the weapons used in the murder.”

Police sources said Binodini was living with her sons, aged 13 and 14, in an apartment after being separated by her husband. While the elder son was studying in Class X, the younger one in Class IX.

“Binodini came to the area a few months ago. She used to beat the two children after getting drunk.

“On Wednesday when she started beating them, the two sons suddenly lost their temper and attacked the mother with a crowbar. The mother died on the spot,” said a senior police official.

Sources said after committing the crime, the boys locked the door and fled. Later they informed the security guard someone entered their house and attacked their mother. The security guard of the apartment discovered the body of the woman lying in a pool of blood in her flat. He informed the police.

The police detained the boys who were hiding in a nearby apartment.