Woman set ablaze on witchcraft suspicions, dies

A woman was set ablaze and killed on witchcraft suspicions allegedly on the orders of a village panchayat in Bihar’s Nawada district on Thursday evening, police said, adding that at least 20 people have been arrested in this connection.

PATNA A woman was set ablaze and killed on witchcraft suspicions allegedly on the orders of a village panchayat in Bihar’s Nawada district on Thursday evening, police said, adding that at least 20 people have been arrested in this connection.

Police said that a case has been lodged against 52 named accused. (Picture for representation)

According to police, the incident took place in Goriyadih village, located in a hilly and forested area under Rajauli police station of Nawada district bordering Jharkhand.

After being set on fire, the woman, identified as Sarita, ran to save her life and jumped into a pond, but succumbed to burn injuries, police said, citing eyewitness accounts.

Nawada superintendent of police (SP) Dhurat Saayli Savlaram said the role of the panchayat in the heinous incident would be investigated. “A case has been lodged against 52 named accused, including sarpanch Prayag Singh, and 20 others on the basis of the statement of victim’s husband Mahesh Singh. Altogether, 20 people, including 13 women, have been arrested while rest have fled the village.”

According to the victim’s family members, a panchayat was held in the village under sarpanch (village arbitrator) Prayag Singh Thursday morning, where it was decided to punish Sarita. In the evening, a group of people reached the victim’s house but she was not there. The inmates of the house were then assaulted and asked about Sarita’s whereabouts.

Later, Sarita’s family members told them she had gone to Koderma in Jharkhand for her son’s medical treatment. As they returned, they found Sarita midway and allegedly set her on fire. As she ran towards a local pond, people chased her and pelted stones.

Station house officer (SHO) of Rajauli police station, Darbari Choudhary, said a police team was in the village to collect evidence.

Police said villagers blamed Sarita for the recent death of one Bablu Singh.s