Woman stripped and tied to a tree after being branded a 'witch' in Jharkhand's Sahibganj

SAHIBGANJ: A 60-year-old woman was allegedly stripped and tied to a tree after being branded a witch by some people in Jharkhand's Sahibganj district, police said on Thursday.

An FIR has been filed against three persons based on the complaint lodged by the woman at Barhait police station, around 385 km from the capital Ranchi, police said.

The woman told police that she was released on condition of paying Rs 21,000 to the accused.

Barhait police station in-charge Gaurav Kumar told PTI, "As per the statement of the victim, the incident took place 20 days back and it was being settled by the village panchayat. However, she lodged an FIR against three people on Wednesday." Kumar said that the accused have left the village and a search operation is on to nab them.

"We are investigating the matter and interrogating some villagers. A section of the villagers said the accused and the victims are neighbours and they had an internal dispute. They also said that Rs 21,000 was taken from the victim," he said.