RANCHI: Police have recovered the bodies of two women who were allegedly killed over suspicion of practising witchcraft, near Jharkhand's Ranchi district, officials said.
Another woman is missing and a search operation is underway to trace her, they said.
The deceased appeared to have been hit with sticks and dumped in a hilly area, about 60 km from here, said Ranchi Superintendent of Police (Rural), Naushad Alam.
"A police team was rushed to the spot after we received information about the incident on Sunday afternoon. Prima facie, it seems to be a case of killing over witchcraft suspicion," he said.
The women, identified as Railu Devi (45) and Dholi Devi (60), were allegedly killed in the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.
"Search efforts are underway for the missing woman based on the inputs of villagers," Sonahatu Police Station In-charge Mukesh Hembrom said.
Meanwhile, Peeved at back-to-back incidents of crime against minor girls in Jharkhand, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chief Priyank Kanoongo on Sunday said the cases were "alarming" and his team would visit the state to take stock of the probe status.
Kanoongo, talking to PTI, said he and his team would meet police officers during his Monday visit to the state to find out details of two recent cases of teenagers' death in Dumka.
A 14-year-old tribal girl, allegedly sexually exploited by a man on the pretext of marriage, was found hanging from a tree in Dumka on Friday, with her mother claiming that she was raped and killed.
The accused has been nabbed.
Just days prior to that, on August 23, a 16-year-old girl was set on fire by a man "whose advances she had spurned".
The girl succumbed to her injuries five days later.
At least two arrests have been made in this case thus far.
Kanoongo, who had earlier written to Jharkhand chief secretary and other state government officials stating that he would visit Dumka to enquire about the August 23 incident, later said that he would examine the other case too.
"The commission has come across yet another incident of alleged rape and murder of a minor tribal girl by a man in Mufassil police station area in Dumka. Such incidents are alarming," he told PTI.
The NCPCR chairman also said that the team would be meeting the family of the girl who died of burn injuries after allegedly being set on fire.
"The team, headed by me, will hold a meeting with deputy commissioner and senior police officers handling the cases, apart from doctors who conducted autopsy," he added.
The incidents at Dumka led a political slugfest in Jharkhand with Chief Minister Hemant Soren asserting that action would be taken against the accused, and BJP's Babulal Marandi hitting out at him with a tweet that said "whatever you and your police hide, we will get her justice".