Ranchi, Mar 18 : A 50-year-old woman was murdered in Jharkhand’s Gumla district over allegations of practicing witchcraft, and her body was discovered buried in sand on the banks of the Khatwa river, local officials said on Monday.
Police recovered the body and arrested the prime accused, Karmpal Lakra, a neighbor of the victim, who confessed to the crime.
The victim, a resident of Phatti Bagicha Toli in Gumla, had been missing for four days, prompting her son to file a missing person report at the Gumla Sadar police station. Suspecting foul play, he expressed concerns that his mother may have been targeted over witchcraft accusations.
Acting on the complaint, the Superintendent of Police of Gumla district directed an investigation, deploying a dog squad. During the search, a slipper and a towel belonging to the missing woman were found near the Khatwa river, raising suspicions.
Based on these clues and local inquiries, police detained Karmpal Lakra for questioning. During interrogation, Lakra admitted to killing the woman and burying her body in the sand, officials said.
Following the confession, police exhumed the body and sent it for a post-mortem examination.
In a separate incident in Bihar’s Jamui district, a husband and wife were brutally murdered on suspicion of practicing witchcraft, police said.
The crime occurred in Chilko village under the Jhajha police station area, where the couple was attacked and killed with sharp-edged weapons by their relatives, who accused them of being witches.
The gruesome act has sent shockwaves across the region. Upon receiving information, Jamui Superintendent of Police (SP) Madan Kumar Anand and Jhajha SDPO rushed to the scene.
Police officials conducted an inspection and sent the bodies for a post-mortem examination. Authorities have launched an investigation and are actively searching for the accused.
Witchcraft-related violence remains a persistent issue in parts of India, where superstitious beliefs continue to result in deadly attacks on individuals, often women, suspected of practicing black magic.
