Villagers in Assam violently beaten a 50-year-old man to death on suspicion of practicing witchcraft. According to police reports, five people have been arrested so far in the investigation.
On Monday, a surprising incident occurred in Bagribari village in the Baksa district. Biren Boro, 50, has been named as the suspect.
According to police accounts, the victim was first ‘branded’ as committing witchcraft by a Kangaroo court before being targeted by a crowd. The police officers who arrived to save the survivor were also targeted by the crowd.
“We received information that villagers are assaulting a man on suspicion that he practiced witchcraft. When the police reached the spot, they saw that a meeting was going on and some villagers were assaulting a person. When we tried to rescue the man, the villagers attacked us and vandalized the police car. We had to use force to bring the situation under control. We have arrested five people allegedly involved in the brutal attack,” Baksa Superintendent of Police Rajen Singh told media.
According to police, the victim was seriously wounded in the attack and was rushed to a hospital for treatment, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Between 2001 and 2019, at least 161 people in Assam were killed in “witch-hunting” and other superstitious activities. Since 2001, 133 cases have been reported, according to official reports.
The Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act, which implements stringent punishment and fines for branding and killing people for being “witches” is in effect in the state since 2018.
In 2001, the Assam police department launched “Project Prahari.” It was a police group initiative to stop women from being killed after being labeled as witches.
