Sundergarh: In yet another shocking incident of witch branding, an elderly woman was killed at Jagdishpur village under Kuanrmunda block in Sundergarh district on Saturday. The deceased has been identified as Birasi Birla (70).
Birla was beaten to death by a youth identified as Ghanshyam Ekka of the same village yesterday.
According to reports, Ghanshyam and other people in village were not keeping well for the past few months. Suspecting Birla of doing some witchcraft, Ghanshayam allegedly attacked her with a wooden plank yesterday.
Though witch hunting cases had come down following massive awareness campaigns by several NGOs and government in Sundergarh district, the fresh incident has led to widespread resentment among locals.
Following the incident, police detained Ghanshyam and further investigation has started as the involvement of other persons in the murder of the elderly woman cannot be ruled out.
(Photo Source : Hindustan Times)