Quack ‘healer’ canes woman to death

JAGATSINGHPUR: In a shocking incident, a mentally ill married woman was caned to death by a 15-year-old self-styled miracle healer and her mother of Balia village in Kujang on Thursday night.
The deceased was identified as Susmita Nayak of Sasanipada within Patakura police limits. The accused Subhashree Beura and her mother Minati have been detained by police for interrogation.

As per reports, claiming that Subhashree possessed supernatural healing powers, Minati and her daughter used to ‘treat’ patients suffering from various ailments for  the last two years. Such was the popularity of the duo that hundreds of people from different areas of Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts used to throng Balia village for treatment of their diseases through divine powers. Subhashree, who studies in Class X in Balia High School, used to cane patients in order to cure their diseases.

Sources said Susmita, the victim, was mentally ill for the last two to three years. On being informed about the ‘divine’ powers of the mother-daughter duo, the family members brought Susmita to Balia and admitted her in Minati’s house for treatment on Monday. For the last four days, Subhashree and her mother caned Susmita on the pretext of curing her illness. On Thursday night, the beating was so severe that the victim became senseless and died.

Susmita’s brother Sarojkant Nayak said the mother-daughter duo claimed that his sister was mentally ill because she was possessed by an evil spirit. The duo further claimed that it will take some days to completely cure her. In order to drive away the evil spirit from Susmita’s body, they used to cane her for the last four days, Sarojkant said and added that unable to bear the severe beating, his sister became unconscious and later died.

On Friday, Sarojkant lodged an FIR with Kujang police accusing Minati and her daughter of killing his sister. There were hundreds of cane marks on Susmita’s body, he alleged.Kujang IIC Bichitrananada Samal said police have seized the body and sent it for postmortem. A case has been registered and the autopsy report is awaited to ascertain the cause of death. Police have detained the accused mother and daughter for interrogation, he added.