RANCHI: Locals of Jharkhand's Narayanpur village late paraded two women and a man naked and thrashed them for allegedly practicing witchcraft. The police reached the spot and rescued all the three victims, and got them hospitalised under security.
Based on the statement recorded by one of the victims, an FIR has been lodged at Sadar Police Station against 22 named and 35 unknown persons. Two of these have been arrested. “We have arrested two persons named in the FIR, while the hunt is on for the other accused persons in the case,” said officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station Rajiv Kumar Singh.
When the police reached the spot, over 50 people were present there but all of them escaped taking advantage of the darkness, he added.
The incident took place at Narayanpur village, around 6 kilometers from the district headquarters where some of the villagers thrashed the trio badly and paraded them naked.
One of the victims has named one Bali Rajwar and accused him of beating him and two elderly women of his family. Rajwar and nearly 40 of his men charged them of practising black magic.
“Around 10 days ago, the accused and his men came to us and had a verbal spat charging us of practising black magic. Though the matter was closed there, they returned for us last night, dragged us from our home and thrashed us before stripping us naked," said Chotu, one of the victims. They also tried to make one of the women go blind, he added.
According to Chotu, the incident took place after two girls started behaving as if they are possessed. Their families called for a panchayat meeting an seized the phones of all the attendees. A majority of the villagers were drunk when the incident took place, he said.