On June 10 men forcibly took the woman away while she was sleeping with her three children in her house. They accused her of bringing misfortune to a villager and branded her a witch.
A 45-year old woman in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district was allegedly stripped, beaten up and gang-raped by men, who suspected her of practising witchcraft.
She was taken to the house of Luria Laguri, who was ill, and was asked to cure her. She was beaten up mercilessly, stripped and asked to dance. When she fell unconscious, Ramesh Laguri and Mangal Singh Laguri allegedly took her to a nearby school’s toilet and raped her. The next morning they paraded her in the village and branded her a witch.
Police arrested Ashish Laguri, Ramesh Laguri, Mangal Singh Laguri and Bahadur Laguri in connection with the crime. Two others, Mantri Laguri and Jingi Laguri, are absconding. “The four arrested accused have been sent to jail and other two will be arrested soon. The victim has been sent to her brother’s residence after medical examination,” officer-in-charge of Tonto police station, Bamshankar Yadav, said.
She is safe there and the police will ensure she gets justice, the officer said.
Incidents of witch-hunting continue to occur in Jharkhand despite a statewide ban. It is high time that people are educated against such superstitious practices and women are saved from such heinous crimes done in the name of such practices.
h/t: Hindustan Times
*Image for representational purpose only.