Bihar man, 65, accused of practising black magic, killed by villagers: Police

Police said the villagers were led by a man who alleged that black magic practised by the victim led to his three-year-old son’s death

PATNA: A 65-year-old man was hacked to death by a group of four men on Sunday who accused him of practising black magic in a remote village in Bihar’s Shekhpura district, police said.

Police said the attackers were drunk when they barged into Ramdeo’s house and attacked him with sharp-edged weapons. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The villagers were led by Kajroo Manjhi of Gariban Tola village in Ariyari block who recently lost his three-year-old child. He blamed the victim, Ramdeo Manjhi alias Jataha Manjhi, for his loss.

The victim’s two sons, who were with him at the time of the attack, said the four barged into their house at 11pm on Sunday and attacked his father. Ramdeo Manjhi’s nephew Tulsi told the police that Kajroo was a suspicious man and suspected the involvement of his uncle in his son’s death.

Police said the attackers were drunk when they barged into Ramdeo’s house and attacked him with sharp-edged weapons.

Kasar police station SHO Lakshmi Kumari said: “On being informed by the deceased’s family we have registered a case and investigation is on to find out the real reason behind the crime. While the body has been sent for autopsy, we have detained one person for interrogation”.

Police said a team from the forensic science lab in Gaya has collected samples from the spot.

This is the second reported case of a person being killed in Bihar on suspicion of practising black magic. On June 16, a 65-year-old woman Lakiya Devi was beaten to death by residents of Malhi-Patti village in Arwal district on suspicion that she practised sorcery.