Five from family killed on suspicion of practising witchcraft in Chhattisgarh; five held

The accused brutally attacked the victims with sticks leading to their death on the spot, police said.

Sukma: Five members of a family, including two couples, were allegedly beaten to death on suspicion of practising witchcraft in a village in Chhattisgarh's tribal-dominated Sukma district on Sunday, police said.

Five persons, all from the same village, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder and there might be more arrests, he said.

The incident took place at Itkal village under Konta police station limits and the victims were identified as Mausam Kanna (34), his wife Mausam Biri, Mausam Buchcha (34), his wife Mausam Arjo (32), and another woman Karka Lachhi (43), Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said.

After being alerted, senior officials rushed to the spot, he said.

So far, five accused identified as Savlam Rajesh (21), Savlam Hidma, Karam Satyam (35), Kunjam Mukesh (28) and Podiam Enka have been arrested, he said.

The accused brutally attacked the victims with sticks leading to their death on the spot, he said. More arrests might be made, the official said.

According to official sources, for the last few months, a child or a man was dying almost every week in the village and the residents blamed the victims’ family for the deaths.

The residents told police that they believed the victims’ family used witchcraft to target those who became economically sound in their village, they said.

Except for two children, the other five members of the family have been murdered by the accused, they said.

In a similar incident on Thursday (September 12), four members of a family, including an infant boy, were allegedly killed on the suspicion that a member of their family practised black magic in a village in the state's Balodabazar-Bhatapara district.