Dubai: Yesterday, a woman in the Indian state of Bihar was beaten to death for allegedly practising witchcraft. According to news reports shared on social media today, police said that the victim, Geeta Devi, had arrived at her in-law’s house in Jharkhand on Monday morning. As soon as she reached, a mob attacked the 30-year-old with sticks and rods.
When her brother, daughter and mother in-law tried to save her, they, too, were thrashed by the villagers. Geeta Devi was then, allegedly, dragged on road and beaten up, said local news reports.
Apparently, by the time the police reached the village, Devi was already dead.
The incident happened in Jharkhand’s Giridih district. Police have said that an FIR (First Information Report) has been filed.
According to the villagers, her neighbour and relative Munshio Mahto’s family had accused Geeta of practising witchcraft. They threatened to kill her after Mahto’s son died due to some illness about two weeks ago.
Following the threat, Geeta had gone to her father’s house in Kankani village. But, upon her return, Mahto, along with 10 to 15 villagers, allegedly caught hold of her and started beating the woman with lathi (sticks) and rods.
Sharing the report, Twitter user @krishnaa01 posted: “If we love our country, then we have to improve the condition of women.”
And, @talk2tahirkhan tweeted: “I thought we were in 2020!”
In Jharkhand, the anti-witch hunting law was passed in 2001. But stories of women being attacked and killed after being branded as witches, are not new.
The local police station officer in-charge Parmeswar Singh said Geeta Devi was lynched for allegedly practising black magic. “On the complaint of deceased’s mother in-law, an FIR has been lodged against Munshi Mahto and others in this connection. The body has been sent to Giridih Sadar hospital for post-mortem”, he said, according to a news report.
