Ranchi
In yet another gruesome incident of witch-hunting in Jharkhand, villagers in Ranadih in Sonahatu, killed three women branding them as witches (dayan) practicing black magic. The killings were brutal with the women bludgeoned to death with stones.
The police, who were even blocked by women of the village saying it was their internal matter, first recovered the bodies of Railu Devi (45) and Dholi Devi (60) while frantic efforts to find the third, Alomani Devi, could yield result only on Monday.
“We have formed an SIT headed by DSP Bundu. The team also has the two incharge of Tamar and Sonahatu police stations. The locals didn’t inform the police. In fact, while the male members fled the village, the women kept mum. We have come to know about some culprits. A hunt is on for them. Some arrests have been made,” SSP, Ranchi, Kishore Kaushal, said.
Jharkhand is infamous for its witch-hunting numbers. More than 1000 women, mostly elderly, have been killed in the State in the last two decades after being branded dayans (witches). Some of the instances have also been to grab the properties of the elderly.
As per reports, 18-year-old Rajkishore Singh Munda, a student of Eklavya School, Tamar, died of a snake bite on September 1. The villagers brought in a local snake-charmer-cum-healer (ojha) who said tragedy will strike the village as witches have cast a net on it. In fact, he told them a second incident of snake bite will happen in the household which has a witch.
Unfortunately, another teenager Lalit Singh Munda, son of Abhimanyu Singh Munda, was bitten by a snake the very next day making the villagers to believe the healer. Lalit’s life, however, could be saved. But angry villagers caught hold of Abhimanyu’s wife Railu alleging she practiced witch-craft.
She then, out of fear, took the names of two other elderly women, Dholi and Alomani. All three were subsequently taken to a hill nearby and bludgeoned to death. The police have so far arrested Abhimanyu Singh Munda and Muchiram Munda, who narrated the entire incident to the police.
