Four villagers lynched in Jharkhand after panchayat decides they practice black magic

Four people in a Jharkhand village were lynched on the suspicion of witchcraft practice.

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Four villagers in Jharkhand's Gumla district were lynched to death by a group of 10-12 men on suspicion of them practising black magic.

The two men and two women belonged to three families in Gumla. The incident took place under the jurisdiction of the Sisayi police station on Saturday.

Around a dozen masked men raided the Nagar Shikari village under Sisayi police station around 3 am on Saturday and picked up Shuna Bhagat (65) Fagni Devi (60) Champa Bhagat (65) and Peti Bhagat (60) from their house. Villagers on condition of anonymity said that an assembly (panchayat) was organised before the incident took place. Charges were framed against the four deceased that all of them were involved in the practice of witchcraft and black magic.

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The four people were dragged to a distance from the village and lynched with traditional weapons such as sticks and iron rods.

SP Gumla, Anjani Kumar Jha, told ANI, "Prima facie it appears the victims were involved in witchcraft. The crime seems to have happened because of superstitious beliefs. An investigation is underway."

The killings have spread tension and fear among locals in the area. They are refusing to talk about the incident.