PATNA: A 90-year-old woman was burned alive for allegedly practising witchcraft at Kanp village under the
Mohanpur outpost
of Rupauli police station area in Purnia district, 280km from Patna, on Monday-Tuesday midnight.
Police said
Ramvati Devi
was living with her family of ten members, including son Shiv Shankar Ram who is the headmaster of
Balia Harijan School
in a neighbouring village. She was dragged out of her house by a group of villagers who put her on fire after pouring kerosene on her. She died before police reached the spot.
Mohanpur outpost in-charge
Raj Kishore Mandal
told TOI over phone on Tuesday the woman had earlier asked 12-year-old Bheem Mahaldar to bring cow dung cakes from nearby. “When the boy picked up the cow dung cakes, a poisonous snake bit him. His father Chikru Mahaldar (38) along with neighbours took him to a local priest for treatment and later to a hospital where he died,” the officer said.
He said the boy’s family members assembled outside the elderly woman’s house and quarrelled with her family, alleging the boy died due to her witchcraft and asking her to revive him.
“Police were informed in the evening about the tension in the village. By the time they reached the village, the woman had been killed,” said a villager over phone.
An FIR has been lodged by the elderly woman’s daughter-in-law,
Kavita Devi. She has named six accused, including Chikru. “Chikru has been arrested while raids are on to nab the other accused,” the outpost in-charge said.
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