33 people including 20 women were arrested in connection with the lynching of a 50-year-old woman on suspicion of a witchcraft incident in Odisha's Ganjam district on Friday.
Murder case registered
"We have registered total five different cases, including murder, after the incident. Inquiry was on about the incident", said a police officer.
Entire village allegedly involved in the crime
After police action, almost all the male residents of Madhurachua village fled away. Presently some elderly people, women and children are in the village.
"We have launched a manhunt to arrest more persons involved in the incident", said Prabhat Sahoo, inspector in charge, Kabisurya Nagar police station.
Who was the victim?
The villagers allegedly killed Jhunu Nayak, wife of Yudhisthira for lodging a police complaint by her husband against her neighbour without consulting them on Wednesday.
Killing or attacking woman in the name of witchcraft incident is not new in remote areas. State like Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Odisha often witnessed such horrific crime.
In June 2022, a 75-year-old Manbai Sahu in Chhuria region of Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh was killed by a man accusing her of being a 'tonhi' practicing. Three persons were killed over suspicion of witchcraft by members of same family in Mandla, MP in May 2022. In another incident, a 31-year-old woman was beaten to death by her relative for allegedly practising witchcraft in Ranchi in July 2022.
(With PTI input)
Also Read: Madhya Pradesh: Three killed over suspicion of witchcraft by members of same family in Mandla
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