Gumla 'witch' case: Cops nab 'sorceress' from Ranchi

GUMLA: Police on Tuesday arrested Sushila Nayak, a self-proclaimed woman sorceress, from Burmu on the outskirts of Ranchi in connection to the lynching of four elderly persons at Nagar Siskari village in Sisai block of Gumla on suspicion of practising witchcraft on Sunday. In another development, Sisai police station in-charge Sudhir Prasad Sahu was also shunted to police lines for 'administrative lapses' in the case.
Gumla SP Anjani Kumar Jha said: "The woman (Nayak) has been arrested for inciting the villagers." This comes a day after police arrested eight of the 16 named accused and sent them to jail. Asked about the remaining accused, Jha said raids were on to apprehend them.
The mob attack was planned after a tribal priest blamed "witchcraft" by one of the victims for the death of a boy three weeks ago. The priest pinned the blame for his illness on one of the lynching victims, Suna Oraon (65). The other three victims in the attack early on Sunday were Chapa Oraon (65), his wife Phiri Devi (62) and Phagni Devi (60).
Police said the villagers had contacted Sushila, who allegedly told them that there were ghosts in the village. She also accused the victims of inviting trouble for the village by taking their goats to graze at a devi sthan (religious site). Thereafter, the accused held another meeting on Saturday night before deciding to kill the four.
Meanwhile, Sisai police station in-charge Sudhir Prasad Sahu was on Tuesday shunted to police lines for "administrative lapses" in the case. Sources said Sahu failed to act on warning signs. "Villagers held several rounds of meetings before they decided to kill the four. The officer has been taken off from his post for his inability to gather and act on pre-emptive intelligence," another official said. Technically, he is not suspended but will not do his thana related work, sources said. Police is still camping in the village as part of law and order measure. Jha said they are planning to launch a massive awareness drive at the thana level to sensitize people against witch-hunting and mob lynching. "In recent times, several sessions were held at the sub-divisional levels, but we will now take out efforts to the thana-level and engage with locals," he said.