4 elderly lynched over ‘witchcraft’ in J’khand

Gumla, July 21

Four elderly persons, including two women, were lynched in Jharkhand’s Gumla district on suspicion of practising witchcraft, the police said here on Sunday.

The incident took place at Nagar Siskari village in the district on Saturday night. Superintendent of Police Anjani Kumar Jha said a group of 10 masked men dragged them out of their houses and beat them to death with sticks. “It appears to be a witchcraft-related incident and the matter is being investigated,” he said. Suna Oraon (65), Champa Oraon (79), Fagni Oraine (60) and Piro Oraine (74) were killed, Jha said. The police have launched a search to nab the accused, he said.

Meanwhile, veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah on Sunday expressed solidarity with the family members of those killed in incidents of mob lynching in the country. Speaking at a national convention on the theme of ‘state complicity in hate crimes’ in Dadar here, Shah said the victims and kin of mob lynchings had suffered a lot. The event was organised by Democratic Youth Federation of India. “I feel proud to be with them (kin of victims) in this programme and salute their courage. They have faced a lot more than us in their life. We have faced not even two per cent of their sufferings,” he said. — PTI