Kolkata: Locals call woman 'witch'; accuse her of causing death of cattle

Kolkata: An appalling incident recently came to light from a village in West Bengal. A tribal woman was allegedly lynched after being termed as a 'witch' in Iswarpur, Ghatal. The 59-year-old was called a witch after the death of cattle in the past few weeks. 

The locals lynched the woman after a janguru, Shyamli Mandi asked them to get rid of her.

The locals believed that the woman was responsible for the constant death of cattle in the area. 

According to the Times of India's report, the locals had been performing pujas to get rid of evil spirits. The locals allegedly demanded compensation from the victim following the constant death of cattle. After the victim refused to pay the compensation, she was brutally beaten by the villagers. The villagers did not even allow the police to rescue the victim. 

A similar incident of superstition was reported from Mungeli, Jharkhand after a man murdered his mother after accusing her of being a 'witch'. The man allegedly killed his mother and buried her body in the backyard of their house. The incident came to light ten days after the deceased went missing from her house. The son-in-law of the deceased lodged a missing complaint with the police. During the investigation, the police spoke to the accused and his wife. Suspicion arose among the police when the accused and his wife kept altering their statements. 

Eventually, the accused confessed to the crime and said that he had stangulated her before stuffing her body in a sack and burying it in the backyard. It was only after the confession of the accused that the police started searching for the body of the deceased. The accused added that he believed that his mother was a witch. He blamed the deceased for the death of his father and alleged that she killed him using balck magic.