NEW DELHI: In a shocking incident, an elderly couple was beaten to death in Birbhum district in West Bengal after a kangaroo court ruled that the victims were practicing witchcraft which, it suspected, led to the death of the village head’s wife.
According to police, village head Rubai Besra and other influential persons of the village in Sainthia asked all the villagers to be present at the kangaroo court on Monday afternoon after Besra’s wife died of some ailments.
“The family members of the deceased alleged that when they did not attend the kangaroo court, a group of men came to their house. They dragged Parbati and her husband to the venue. Pandu pleaded with empty hands, but all fell into deaf ears,” said a police officer quoting the allegations made by the victims’ family members.
The couple was allegedly brutally beaten up by bamboo sticks. ‘’When they fell unconscious, the attackers fled leaving behind them. It was Pandu’s relatives who admitted the couple to Sian healthcare centre in Bolpur,’’ said the police officer. The couple, however, succumbed to their injuries later.
“As their bodies were handed over, Besra and his men took the bodies to a distant crematorium in a tractor. When the crematorium staff started asking why did they come to a distant place instead of going nearby, they failed to provide a satisfactory answer. By that time, Pandu’s relatives reached there and disclosed what happened in the kangaroo court,’’ said another police officer.
The police arrested Besra and are also looking for five others identified by Pandu before succumbed to
his injuries.