Elderly Gumla woman branded as witch, killed

Gumla: A 75-year-old woman was branded a witch and lynched in Salami village under Ghaghra police station of the district on Wednesday night. Her body is yet to be retrieved and sent for post mortem by police, who could not visit the Maoist-hit village so far.
The victim, Shanicharwa Khadia, was sitting outside her home when her neighbour Pandu Oraon assaulted her with sticks and a sharp weapon.
Mangaleshwar, son of the deceased, said she died on the spot. “Oraon called my mother a witch and yelled that he used to see her apparition wherever he went,” Mangleshwar told the police. Oraon had tried to kill her in 2018 as well, Mangleshwar claimed.
SP Hrudeep P Janardhan said, “The accused will be arrested soon. While the cases of witch-hunting have reduced, still a lot of awareness is needed to be created.”