Paralakhemundi: Eight persons were apprehended by the police on Thursday in connection with the alleged killing of a man over sorcery suspicion in Mohana area of Odisha’s Gajapati district.
Police said the eight suspects were held after a complaint was lodged by the family of the victim regarding the incident. As per the family members, the body of the deceased was buried in a forest.
Sources said Karunakar Dalei, a resident of Kamalapur village, was living in Kusumpur village for the last eight months. He used to make herbal medicines for villagers. However, after the death of 12-year-old son of a villager, locals suspected it was caused by sorcery performed by Dalei.
Suspecting that Dalei indulged in witchcraft which led to the minor boy’s death, some youths from the village picked him up from his house on July 28.
As per the complaint lodged by Dalei’s family, the youths allegedly took him to an Anganwadi centre where he was held hostage for three days with hands and legs tied up, and beaten mercilessly until he succumbed. The youths then took the body and buried it in a jungle on top of a hill about 4 km away from the village, they claimed.
Acting on the complaint, Mohana police started investigation and detained eight youths for interrogation in this connection.
The police also exhumed Dalei’s body in the presence of a magistrate and a scientific team as part of the investigation. The body will be sent for post-mortem.
