AGENCIES/ RANCHI
FOUR villagers have been lynched to death by a group of people on suspicion of them practising black magic in Jharkhand’s Gumla district.
According to reports around a dozen masked men raided the Nagar Shikari village under Sisayi police station around 3 am on Saturday and picked up Shuna Bhagat (65) Fagni Devi (60) Champa Bhagat (65) and Peti Bhagat (60) from their house. Villagers on condition of anonymity said that an assembly (panchayat) was organised before the incident took place.
Charges were framed against the four deceased that all of them were involved in the practice of witchcraft and black magic.4 people were dragged to a distance from the village and lynched with traditional weapons such as sticks and iron rods. According to SP Gumla, Anjani Kumar Jha, the crime seems to have happened because of superstitious beliefs. An investigation is underway.”The killings have spread tension and fear among locals in the area. They are refusing to talk about the incident.