Narayanpatna: In a shocking incident, villagers force-fed a tribal man with faeces after tying him to a pole on a village road over suspected witchcraft and sorcery at Karkaitiki village under Borigi panchayat under this block in Koraput district, a report said here Wednesday
The matter came to the fore after Pidika Singana managed to flee from the village with his sons Suka Singana and Kanta Singana and took shelter in Narayanpatna police station where he narrated his ordeal Tuesday.
The villagers not only force-fed him with faeces but also threatened him of dire consequences if he discloses the matter to others. Pidika named co-villagers Puruta Miniaka, Kisa Kadraka, Shankar Rao Pidika, Dambaru Paleka responsible for heaping torture on him.
Police registered a case and called over 40 persons to the police station to grill them in this connection, IIC Umesh Sahu said.
Sources said Pidika’s wife died of snakebite 15 years back. However, he refused to believe this and suspected that someone nursing a grudge against him might have killed his wife.
He met a sorcerer in nearby village and sought his help in identifying the person responsible for his wife’s death. Back home, his absence from the village raised doubts about Pidika practicing witchcraft in the minds of villagers.
Their doubts were reinforced when two persons died within a short span of two weeks in the village.
Planning to teach him a lesson, the villagers called him to a meeting where they tied his limbs to a pole and asked him to refrain from his practice of witchcraft and sorcery.
Later, they forced him to eat faeces and threatened him with dire consequences if he revealed the matter to others. He fled from the village with his two sons and reached the police station to lodge a complaint. PNN
