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Branded witches, 65-yr-old tribal woman and brother clubbed to death in Bengal village
An FIR was registered against nine persons. When police tried to enter the village they were greeted with arrows and had to retreat.
A 60-year-old tribal man and his elder sister were clubbed to death on Monday in Bengal’s East Burdwan district allegedly by their nephew, Bishu Mandi, and some local villagers.
Mandi allegedly told the villagers that a witch doctor had told him that his uncle Mangal Mandi, 60, and his sister Maku Baskey, 65, were witches and responsible for his wife’s prolonged illness.
Read: Jharkhand tops in witch-hunt murders, 523 women lynched between 2001-16: NCRB
The incident took place at Neor village in the Arui area in East Burdwan district, about 130 km away from Kolkata. The village comes under the jurisdiction of Madhadihi police station.
After police and local administration came to know of incident on Tuesday, Bishu Mandi and his associates burnt the bodies on the banks of the Damodar river. They even stopped a police team from entering the village by shooting arrows.
“We have registered a case against Bishu Mandi and eight other villagers based on whatever information we could gather. We will raid the village again. We are investigating whether the real motive behind the crime is to grab property,” said Debasish Nag, officer-in-charge of Madhadihi police station.
Read: ‘Witches’ no more: Women in MP’s Patidar villages take on the unfair social custom
“I have asked the police to conduct a thorough investigation. We will also send a team to the village,” said Dipyamay Majumder, the block development officer.
The practice of witchcraft and visiting witch doctors go back a few centuries in the tribal belts scattered across Bengal’s western districts and parts of Jharkhand. There have been numerous summary killings and punishments by kangaroo courts. However, in recent years, many of these killings have resulted out of disputes over property.
Local people told the police that Rekha Mandi, wife of Bishu Mandi, was unwell for some time. On Monday, Bishu claimed to have taken his wife to a witch doctor in the Jamalpur area in the same district. Some villagers accompanied them.
Read: The lost case of witches
After their return Bidhu Mandi told the rest of their villagers that the witch doctor declared Mangal Mandi and Maku Baskey witches and claimed that the duo was responsible for Rekha’s illness.
“The locals mercilessly assaulted my uncle and aunt. When I tried to stop them, they roughed me up and locked me in room,” said Gurupada Mandi, another nephew of the victims. Gurupada Mandi somehow managed to escape.
When police reached the village, the locals prevented the men in uniform from entering. The villagers came armed with traditional weapons and chased away the police team.
