India: Man buried alive on suspicion of witchcraft, eight including three nephews held
The three brothers alleged that the victim had cast an evil spell on their sister
Recently, a man in the Indian state of Meghalaya was buried alive over suspicion of practising witchcraft. According to Indian news reports, after arresting the victim’s three nephews last week, the police, on Sunday, arrested five more people in connection with the October 7 murder.
According to Indian news reports, the police in West Khasi Hills district said the man’s three nephews had murdered their uncle Moris Marngar after alleging that he had cast an evil spell on their sister Sildaris through witchcraft.
On October 6, the trio forcibly dragged the man out of his house and held him captive at their sister’s house for a day before burying him, police said.
Meanwhile, the village elders filed a complaint at the local police station stating that Marngar had gone missing.
By the time the police located Marngar, it was too late. They found his buried body, exhumed it, and sent it for post-mortem.
The police lodged a First Information Report (FIR), naming the three brothers and accomplices.
Witch-hunting is a social issue that is common in parts of Northeast India. Countless activists have raised their voice for strong national laws against witch-hunting.
According to an Indian news report, in the state of Assam, it claims a dozen lives in the tea belt and tribal areas every year on average. On October 2, two people were killed by a mob in a remote village in Assam after residents suspected them of practicing witchcraft and an informal village court decided to kill them.