Bhadrak: Tension gripped Rajpur village under Bhadrak Rural police limits after villagers demolished a co-villager’s house, accusing him of practicing sorcery and black magic. According to reports, the man had left the main village nearly a decade ago and built a house on farmland near the cremation ground. Over the years, villagers alleged that several women began behaving abnormally, and their condition reportedly improved only after visiting the man’s house and undergoing rituals. They grew increasingly suspicious as one woman would recover, only for another to begin acting strangely.
Matters escalated Tuesday night when Harekrushna Jena, a resident, claimed he saw a naked woman leaving the accused man’s house and heading toward the cremation ground. Alarmed, he alerted other villagers, who convened a meeting and summoned the man and his family for questioning. During the gathering, the man’s elder son allegedly misbehaved with the village elders and threatened to kill them with his father’s help. The incident enraged the villagers, who gathered Thursday morning and demolished the man’s house. They also demanded the closure of a temple inside the premises.
A formal complaint, signed by several villagers including Balaram Jena, Kartik Jena, Prashant Jena, Sunanda Jena, Bani Jena, Jayaram Jena, and Ashok Kumar Jena, was filed at Bhadrak Rural police station. Officer in-Charge Dayanidhi Das confirmed the man and his son were detained for questioning. Additional Superintendent of Police Arup Abhishek Behera said a complaint was received about sorcery, but no report had been filed regarding the house demolition. An investigation is ongoing.
