A woman and her daughter were beaten and lynched to death in Jharkhand after villagers suspected them of witchcraft on Thursday. A complaint was filed against the woman's husband Subhash Khandait and their son, who managed to escape the raging villagers.
The two women were killed when a neighbour fell ill after attending a puja at the victims' house. The villagers then accused the women of witchcraft and began brutally beating the two women, IANS reports.
"An FIR has been lodged. We are investigating the case," said Anand Mohan, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, West Singhbhum.
Murders related to witchcraft is common in parts of India. A similar incident took place in Odisha in January when six men were accused of killing a woman and her four children, including a 10-month-old baby. The villagers had killed them, suspecting that the woman was involved in a ritual killing of a young, reports India Today.
The woman and her children were killed for the illness and death of a 12-year-old girl after the woman said that she had cast a spell on the girl.
The six men accused included a witch doctor and they have all been booked under the Odisha's Prevention of Witch-Hunting Act.
