Chaibasa (Jharkhand): At least eight people were allegedly killed over the suspicion of 'practising witchcraft' in Jharkhand's Chaibasa on Tuesday.
According to the reports, a tribal - Gumdi Surin reached Sadar Hospital in very serious condition, having multiple injuries. He claimed that his uncle killed 8 members of his family.
"My uncle and I share the same name - Gumdi Surin. I have been living at my in-law's house in Kabragutu for the last 10-15 days. My uncle came here to kill me. However, I fled from the spot and managed to reach my sister's house. She took me to the hospital. I have a serious suspicion that my uncle has killed 8 members of his family, including his brother and 4 children," said Surin.
He also alleged that his uncle must have killed his wife and also raised doubt over the alleged gang rape of his aunt.
When ETV Bharat contacted Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Amar Kumar Pandey, he refuted occurrence any such event under his jurisdiction. However, he asserted that Surin's family had been involved in 'witchcraft' for several years and said that his father was also killed in a similar fashion, a year ago.
Reportedly from 1990 to 2000, as many as 522 women were brutally murdered in Jharkhand in the name of being a 'witch'. After Jharkhand became a separate state, incidents related to witchcraft have increased rapidly. According to the data dating from 2000 to 2019, about 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. In the year 2020, till July 31, there have been 18 cases of harassment in the name of ‘Witch Bisahi’ in Jharkhand.
