3 women beaten to death over 'witchcraft' in Ranchi

Ranchi, September 6

Three women were beaten to death in Jharkhand’s Ranchi district over allegations that they practised witchcraft, police said on Tuesday.

Thirteen people, including the husband and son of one of the women, were booked in connection with the killing at Ranadih village in Sonahaput police station area, SSP Kaushal Kishore said.

Eight people had so far been arrested and a search is on for the rest, he said.

The three women were thrashed with sticks by a group of villagers, who alleged that they practised witchcraft because of which some people in the village were bitten by snakes, police said.

When they died, the bodies were “dumped” in a hilly area near the village, it was alleged.

The bodies of two victims were found on Sunday, while another body was recovered on Monday.

Police said they had detained the husband of one of the victims for questioning after he was named in the complaint filed by the woman’s nephew.

Murder on suspicion of witchcraft is a predominant social evil in the state.

As per National Crime Records Bureau, a total of 590 people, mostly women, were killed over this between 2001 and 2020.