Udala: Police Sunday arrested eight persons including seven women on the charge of assaulting three women members of a family, who were suspected to be practising witchcraft, at Patra Astia Mohan Dihi in Jaipur panchayat under this block in Mayurbhanj district.
The arrested were Ananta Tudu, 50, Pana Tudu, 48, Sumita Murmu, 20, Hira Murmu, 20, Rounde Tudu, 70, Basanti Tudu, 50, Gouri Soren, 35 and Laxmi Tudu, 30.
Ananta’s son Baidhar was not keeping well. He was admitted to Udala community health centre where he died May 17. However, his family members refused to believe that Baidhar had died of illness. To look for the reason, the family called a sorcerer from Badasahi.
The sorcerer told them that some people living in the neighbourhood of Ananta were practising ‘black magic’ and ‘fed on’ Baidhar.
Ananta told the villagers about the sorcerer’s ‘revelation’ and soon a meeting was convened in the village over the issue.
The villagers suspected that Rukmini Murmu, 70, Thapa Murmu, 30, and Raimat Murmu, 25, were responsible for Baidhar’s death. At the meeting itself, Ananta’s family and others thrashed the three women.
The women filed a complaint at Udala police station, following which the police registered a case and investigated the matter.
