Fellow villagers have allegedly killed and burnt bodies of a 50-year-old widow and a 28-year-old man after a kangaroo court in a remote village in Assam’s Karbi Anglong branded them “witches” and held them responsible for a girl’s death on September 27 and for “practising black magic”.
Police superintendent Debojit Deuri said before the girl’s death, the villagers held the two responsible for her sickness. “The villagers held a kangaroo court in front of the head man’s house on Wednesday night, killed the duo [who are unrelated] and cremated them on a single pyre,” said Deuri.
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He added they have managed to recover some remains of the two from the pyre which will be sent for forensic examination. “Nine persons from the village, including three women involved in the killings, have been arrested. They have confessed to killing the two. Efforts are on to nab six other accused who are absconding.”
A murder case under the Indian Penal Code and the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act has been registered against the villagers. “Our effort will be to nab all accused, get all the required evidence and reports from the forensic lab and file a charge sheet in the case within the quickest possible time,” Deuri said.
{{/usCountry}}A murder case under the Indian Penal Code and the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act has been registered against the villagers. “Our effort will be to nab all accused, get all the required evidence and reports from the forensic lab and file a charge sheet in the case within the quickest possible time,” Deuri said.
{{/usCountry}}According to data presented in the state assembly in November 2019, 107 people have been killed in instances of witch-hunting in Assam since 2011.