Five of family hacked to death, set on fire for witchcraft in Bihar’s Purnia: Police

Babu Lal Oraon’s younger son, a 16-year-old, managed to escape and later gave a statement to the police on the crime

PURNIA: A mob in eastern Bihar’s Purnia district hacked five members of a family, including three women and burnt them on Sunday evening over accusations that one of the five, a 45-year-old woman, practised witchcraft, police said.

Police said the incident took place late in a remote Tetgama hamlet under Purnia district’s Muffasil police station on Sunday evening. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Police said the incident took place late in a remote Tetgama hamlet under the district’s Muffasil police station on Sunday evening.

Police said the deceased have been identified as Babu Lal Oraon (50), his mother Kanto Devi (70), wife Sita Devi (45), son Manjit Kumar (25) and daughter-in-law Rani Devi (22).

Babu Lal’s younger son, a 16-year-old, managed to escape and later gave a statement to the police on the crime.

The teenager told the police that his mother, Sita Devi, was the primary target of the 50-strong mob that turned up at his house on Sunday evening and the other family members were also attacked with killed when they came to her defence.

Police said the villagers took the bodies of their victims along when they finally left.

A search launched by the police later found the charred remains. One of the two men detained by investigators said the bodies were burned using diesel.

Police said the villagers were tight-lipped about the incident. “No one in the village is cooperating with the police and two persons were detained on the basis of the clues received from the boy,” the statement said.

Sunday’s brutal attack may have been linked to the death of a boy two days ago in the village, said sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Pankaj Sharma.

Prof NK Srivastava who has worked among scheduled tribes in Seemanchal and Kosi region, said witchcraft practising was very common among the tribal community.