Chatra man killed for practising 'black magic', six held

Chatra: Two days after a 45-year-old man was tortured to death for allegedly practising black magic, Tandwa police on Friday said six men were arrested in the case.Dharmdev Oraon, a resident of Khuti Tola in Dahu panchayat, was allegedly ragged out of his house by a mob which then attacked him with sticks, beat him, cut his tongue with pliers before killing him on the night of September 10. The mob then burned Oraon’s body. Tandwa police lodged a FIR based on a complaint by Dharmdev’s wife Berion Devi under various sections and the Prevention of Witch-Hunting Act of 2001.In her complaint, Berion Devi claimed that Dharmdev was held responsible for the death of a village resident recently. Later, when another villager fell ill again recently, Dharmdev was accused by the locals again of practising black magic and was held responsible for the villager’s illness. This led to regular arguments before his murder.Tandwa subdivisional police officer Prabhat Ranjan Barwar said a special investigation team raided and arrested the accused.“The accused were identified as Ajay Oraon (35), Kamlesh Oraon (23), Vinay Oraon (22), Churaman a.k.a Chhotu Oraon (21), Kunwar Oraon (28) and Mukesh Oraon (22), all residents of Khuti Tola. All of them confessed to the crime. They have been remanded to judicial custody, while further investigation is ongoing,” Barwar said.