21 July,2019 10:35 PM IST | | mid-day online desk
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Gumla (Jharkhand): Some unidentified persons had allegedly killed four elderly members of three different families in the wee hours of Sunday in Siskari area of the city. Police said that they were brutally murdered over their involvement in witchcraft.
"Prima facie, it appears the victims were involved in witchcraft. Crime seems to have happened because of superstitious beliefs. Four persons have been killed," Superintendent of Police Anjani Kumar Jha told ANI.
According to ANI, the locals claimed that at least 10-12 people came with their faces covered between 1 and 3 am, dragged the victims out of their houses and killed them. The deceased have been identified as Suna Uraav (65), Fagin Devi (62), Chapa Bhagat (62) and his wife Peeri Devi (60).
The police are already on the spot and investigation is on.
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"People need to be wary of these issues. The police are already running campaigns on block and panchayat levels to spread awareness about these issues. We hope to see positive results in the coming time," Jha said.
In another incident, a 60-year-old woman was beaten to death on the suspicion of practising witchcraft at a village in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district on Sunday, police said. The deceased has been identified as Kusum Devi, wife of one Ram Vilas Thakur of Dargah village, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) (East) Gaurav Pandey said.
Around half-a-dozen strongmen of a particular family of the village caned the old woman to death after branding her as a "witch", he said. The body has been sent to Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital here for post-mortem.
The deceased's family has not registered an FIR in this regard till Sunday evening, Pandey said.
The family members of the deceased said they would lodge an FIR only after getting the post-mortem report, he said.
With inputs from ANI
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