Jharkhand woman killed on suspicion of practising witchcraft

A woman was beaten to death on suspicion of her practising witchcraft at the Lapung area in Jharkhand's Ranchi. The police detained three people related to the matter.

Ranchi: A 55-year-old woman suspected of practising witchcraft was beaten to death by locals at the Lapung area in Jharkhand's Ranchi.

Ranchi's rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Naushad Alam said that some people in the area killed the woman mercilessly by entering her house. The murder incident was carried out late Saturday night.

"The villagers made every possible effort to let not reach the matter to the police, but on Sunday afternoon, we got information about the case through the watchman. A team of police reached the spot and sent the body for autopsy," he said.

He further said that the police have also detained three people and they are being interrogated.

Despite a drop in witch-hunt murder cases in Jharkhand, annual figures released by NCRB show the tribal-state witnessed the highest number of such killings in the country in 2019.

Reportedly from 1990 to 2000, 522 women were brutally murdered in Jharkhand in the name of being a witch. After Jharkhand became a separate state, incidents related to the ‘witch superstition’ have increased rapidly.

According to the data covering 2000 to 2019, 1800 women have been killed so far. The highest number of cases is from Chaibasa and Seraikela, where a total of 233 women were murdered.