Rajasthan Police have arrested a 24-year-old man, believed to be suffering from hydrophobia, who allegedly killed an elderly woman and consumed her flesh.

While the accused has been admitted to a hospital for further diagnosis and treatment, police have registered a case against him under Section 302, officials said on Sunday.

Police officials said that as per eyewitnesses, Shanti Devi (65) was grazing cattle when the accused, Surendra Thakur, allegedly attacked her with a stone, resulting in her death.

The incident was reported in Saradhana village, under Sendra police station under Pali district, on Friday.

Jaitaran deputy Superintendent of Police Sukhram Bishnoi said that the accused had been taken to hospital as he was behaving like a mentally sick patient.

"We admitted him to the hospital. Even in the hospital, he created a ruckus, after which he was tied up by the nursing staff on a bed," he added.

Officials said that the accused arrived in Sendra from Mumbai on a bus, as it was verified through a bus ticket found in his possession.

Even doctors at Bangar Hospital, said, "Thakur, a Mumbai resident, has been diagnosed with hydrophobia. This is a disease in which patient faces fear of water which results from an advanced stage of rabies infection. There are chances that Thakur was bitten by a rabies dog in the past and he did not get appropriate treatment.

Meanwhile, son of the deceased, Biren Kathat, filed a police complaint, and accused Thakur of murdering his mother and consuming her flesh. The police have booked Thakur under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for murder and have also charged him with cannibalism. (IANS/JS)