Sorcery suspicion claims two minors’ lives in Mayurbhanj

Bodies of two minor boys, who had been missing along with their mother, were found from a mango orchard of a village in Mayurbhanj district.
Image for representational purpose only.
Image for representational purpose only.

BARIPADA: Bodies of two minor boys, who had been missing along with their mother since Tuesday, were found from a mango orchard of a village in Mayurbhanj district on Friday evening. Sorcery is suspected to be the reason behind the killings.The incident took place in Dhipabandh village under Badampahar police station of Kusumi block, located close to Jharkhand border. While the woman is yet to be traced, police have detained three persons in this connection.


Sources said Jagannath Sinku (10), Jashobanta Sinku (4) and their mother Rinki Sinku had left for their relative’s house in a nearby village five days back. Rinki’s husband Madhusudan Sinku and relatives started searching for them when they did not return home from the relative’s house.


Some villagers found the bodies of the boys while passing through the orchard near Jalpa canal, a few kms from the village, and informed the police. The boys’ throats were found to be slit. Madhusudan had, however, not filed any missing complaint with police since then as he was busy searching for his sons in his relatives’ houses.Police, who suspect that sorcery might be the reason behind the double murder, said efforts are on to trace Rinki.


Badampahar OIC Nabakishore Das said villagers had been accusing Rinki of practising sorcery.
In fact, Madhusudan had a heated exchange of words with a person, who is a witch doctor of the same village as the later suspected Rinki’s hand behind the illness of his wife and children last month. 
“Madhusudan alleged that the witch doctor might have killed his sons to take revenge. We have detained three persons from the village and investigating the case from different angles,” Das said and added that the main accused, the witch doctor, is absconding.


Police have tracked the mobile phone of the witch doctor and launched a manhunt to arrest him. A case under sections 364, 302, 201, 34 IPC and Odisha Prevention of Witch Hunting (OPWH) Act has been registered.

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