Balasore: Police Tuesday evening rescued three members of a family who were held captive by some villagers in Kantabania village under Shyamsundarpur panchayat in this district on the suspicion that they have been involved in witchcraft.
Police said the family members were held captive by fellow villagers for more than three days inside a hut.
The victims have been identified as Pratap Singh, his wife Lakshmi Singh and their relative Suna Singh.
According to reports, many people in the village fell ill for unknown reasons.
The superstitious villagers suspected the trio’s involvement and black sorcery as reasons for the rapid increase in diseases.
Later, the villagers approached another sorcerer in the area who also blamed the family members for practicing black magic.
Following this, some villagers attacked the three and detained them Saturday. The three, who have been injured in the attack, were not even allowed to visit the hospital for treatment.
Acting on a tip-off, the Nilagiri police reached the spot and rescued the trio. A case has been registered and a probe was on, police said.