Indian Tribal News Service
Bhopal/New Delhi
A tribal couple and their minor granddaughter were hacked to death while they were sleeping on their terrace in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla district on the intervening night of Monday-Tuesday.
The 62-year-old man Narbad Singh Warkade, his 57-year-old wife Sukrati and their 12-year-old granddaughter Mahima, were found dead by some locals on Tuesday morning, police officials said.
The unidentified criminals allegedly slit their throats and then severed the elderly woman’s head and hung it from a tree. The three were sleeping on the terrace of their home in Patadei village under Mohgaon police station area, about 40 km from the district headquarters, Additional Superintendent of Police Gajendra Singh Kawar said.
The killers severed the woman’s head and hung it from a tree at a farm located a km away from their home, Mohgaon police station in-charge S L Markam said.
The police were conducting a probe into the incident and trying to gather information about other family members of the deceased and killers, he said. The preliminary investigation revealed that the victims were attacked by a sharp weapon as their throats were cut.
The police also suspect the murders were committed by the family members on suspicion of witchcraft by the beheaded woman. Two persons have been detained. The tree on which Sukrati Bai’s head was hung belonged to the victims. Incidentally, it was the same tree under which the deceased woman sat to guard the farm.
“According to initial probe, there are indications that Sukrati Bai was suspected of indulging in black magic or witchcraft and this might be the reason of the murders. We are questioning those detained for further information,” the SP has been quoted in some media reports.
The incident comes within a fortnight of two tribal men lynched in Seoni district on May 3 on the suspicion of cow slaughter and beef smuggling. There had been allegations of the accused being linked to right-wing organisations.
State Congress chief Kamal Nath attacked the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government asking why excesses against the tribals were increasing in the state.
He said the government was busy making false announcements and spending tribal development funds on rallies but was failing to ensure basic right to life for the tribals.
