Patna: Two men in Bihar tonsured the head of their septuagenarian mother and forced her to eat human excreta, suspecting her of practicing witchcraft in a latest incident related to superstition. Police have arrested both men and sent them to jail.
The incident took place at Singhachauri village in Sitamarhi district, some 130km north of Patna. The incident came to light after the local villagers held a meeting over the issue on Wednesday night to punish the victim’s sons.
Police said both the accused persons identified as Biltu Sahani and his brother Manoj Sahani had recently consulted a witch doctor seeking magic remedy for their failing health.
The witch doctor told the youth that their mother was practicing witchcraft as a result of which they were unable to have good health. The witch doctor also asked them to bring their mother to him so he could exorcise the evil spirit.
Escape from captivity
Acting on his advice, the youth last week asked their aged mother Sunaina Devi, 70 to reach a nearby town on the pretext of meeting a doctor, but instead took her to an exorcist.
“During captivity, my sons first assaulted me, before forcing me to eat human excreta under the guidance of the exorcist,” the woman told media yesterday.
She said she managed to flee captivity and reach home where she narrated the entire incident to the villagers.
Taking the matter seriously, angry villagers held a village court on Wednesday to discuss the issue. At the court, both sons were beaten up badly by the villagers for torturing their aged mother.
The mob looked bent on lynching the youth when someone informed the police who reached the spot and rescued them. Both the youth were later taken into custody and sent to jail.
“When we reached the spot, a mob of about 250 people had gathered there and were demanding action against both the sons of the victim woman. We have arrested both of them and sent them to jail,” a local police official Lalan Kumar told the media today.
Incidents of attacks on women for being “witches” remain a matter of concern in Bihar. Last year, a woman and her young daughter were kidnapped, kept in captivity and forced to dance by some influential persons for allegedly being “witches”.
