A 45-year-old woman was thrashed and paraded naked in Khakhanda village under Jageshwar-Bihar police station, 50 kms from district headquarters at Bokaro, on April 30,evening. Police registered a case against 10 people following the incident, said SDPO,Bermo S.C.Jha.
According to information received from the Sub divisional police Officer here on Sunday, on April 18 about 15 days back a 35-year-old man identified as Uday Mahto from the same village died after falling from a tree.
The deceased's widow Kaushalaya Devi and other family members accused her sister-in- law Rita Devi of the same village of being the reason for the death of Mahto, added SDPO.
However family of the deceased, along with some village residents, said that youth was killed because of witchcraft. They accused the wife of the deceased’s elder brother of practising witchcraft. After branding her as a witch, a group of people thrashed the woman, Jha said.
While talking to the pioneer, SDPO said that the woman was stripped and paraded naked in the village. The accused locked the woman along with her daughter in a room. Both women were rescued after a police team reached the village.
“An FIR was registered under the 147,341,342, 354, 354B,504,506,314 of the IPC and Prevention of Witch-hunting (Dayan Pratha) Act 2001, against ten accused, including Budhani Devi,Sundari Devi,Sabita Devi,Parwati Devi ,Rina Devi,Meena Devi,Puspa Devi,Kaushalaya Devi,Kajo Devi and others, as per the statement of the victim.
“We are identifying the other accused in the case.While ten women have been arrested and all have been forwarded to to Tenughat jail and rest will be arrested soon,” said S.C.Jha.
Satish Chandra Jha, SDPO Bermo said that superstition and lack of education resulted in such incidents, mostly in impoverished regions of the state.
