Villagers catch 'witch', beat up and parade her

WITCH HUNT: Villagers alleged the woman was possessed and so, beat her up mercilessly.

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New Delhi: In yet another incident of mob justice in Bihar, residents of a village in Patna mercilessly beat up a woman accusing her of being possessed and practicing witchcraft.

The woman had reportedly gone to the village on Thursday to collect her baggage that she had left a week ago when she had gone there to cure a woman.

When she reached the village on Thursday, villagers tied her to a tree, beat her up, sheared and set her hair on fire.

They then tied her hands and paraded her through the village, with even the village elders joining in.

The incident took place a stone's throw away from the local police station.

"When police got the information, they rushed to the spot and arrested the people who were abusing her. We also registered a case under a special act," the ASP of Danapur told CNN-IBN.

"The woman, in her statement has told us that she used to help people suffering from different kind of ailments. However, the locals say she also does some kind of witchcraft," he added.

The locals may have beaten up the woman because it is a "traditional thing" to do when they are dissatisfied. "I don't exactly know what, but the locals were apparently not satisfied with her treatment procedures," he said.

Some of the villagers and the woman are in police custody. The police have also accused the woman of conning people.

Meanwhile, the state women's commission has condemned the incident and demanded a probe.

This is not the first time that street justice has been meted out in the state. In Bhagalpur district in August 2007, a chain-snatcher became a victim of mob fury, with policemen looking on.

The man was caught trying to snatch a woman's chain in the Nath Nagar area of Bhagalpur. A mob soon gathered and beat up the man. He was later tied to a motorcycle and dragged around by a policeman.

In September, in Lucknow’s Wazirganj area, an angry mob beat a man to death after a two-and-a-half-year old girl was allegedly found sexually assaulted and murdered in his house.

WITCH-HUNT
	July 3, 2003: Two women accused of witchcraft burned to death by a mob in the Godda, Jharkhand.
	March 19, 2006: A family of five beheaded in Sonitpur, Assam by a mob who accused them of witchcraft.
	August 2, 2007: Two tribal widows were killed in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand after they were branded witches.
	November 12, 2007: A man was arrested by the police for killing an elderly woman after calling her a witch.
	March 20, 2008: An old woman was beaten to death in Aurangabad, Bihar village on suspicion of practising witchcraft.
	March 27, 2008: Sixteen arrested for allegedly burning alive a 40-year-old tribal woman in Chhattisgarh on suspicion of practising witchcraft.