Ranchi: We are well into the 21st century, but India continues to be plagued by the scourge of witch hunting.
Jharkhand’s Chaibasa witnessed one such despicable incident earlier this week.
A 32-year-old woman, labelled as a witch, and her two-month-old infant boy were burnt to death by villagers. Her husband was also attacked, but managed to survive, and is undergoing treatment at a hospital.
On the night of February 17, 40-year-old Kolhan Sinku was asleep in his house. His second wife Jyoti Sinku, two-year-old son, two-month-old infant, along with his first wife Jani Sinku were also at home. As Kolhan’s cousin called out from outside, the entire Sinku family rush out.
They found about a dozen men and women creating an uproar, as they claimed Jyoti was a witch. Kolhan tried to calm them, saying that th
e matter should be resolved in front of the Panchayat in the morning.
However, the mob refused to listen. Someone poured petrol on Kolhan, Jyoti and their little child, who she held in her arms, and set them on fire.
Kolhan managed to escape from the spot and ran towards the police station, taking off his burning clothes along the way. However, he found the police station was shut.
He then went to a relative’s house, before returning to the police station in the morning to report the case. He had to wait for two hours before the station opened.
Police got him admitted to a hospital and went to Kolhan’s house to find charred bodies of Jyoti and her infant kid. The bodies were sent for post-mortem.
“After the husband lodged the police complaint, he was admitted to the government hospital in Kumardungi. We have arrested four men named in the complaint. We are trying to identify the women who also took part in the crime, relying merely on superstition,” PTI quoted Jagannathpur SDPO Raphael Murmu as saying.
According to police, a relative of Kolhan, who lived in the same village, died recently after a prolonged illness. His family accused Jyoti of practising witchcraft and blamed her for the death.