Elderly tribal couple lynched in Latehar, 13 villagers arrested

DALTONGANJ: An elderly tribal couple, identified as Sibal Ganjhu (60) and wife Boni Devi (58), were lynched at Hesla village under Chandwa police station limits in Latehar district on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday on the suspicion of "possessing evil powers", police said.
A total of 13 people, including two 'pahans' (tribal clerics), were arrested on Wednesday on charges of killing the couple, police added.
The officer in-charge of the Chandwa police station, Amit Gupta, said, "Over a dozen people are said to be involved in the lynching. We got to know about the incident around 4am on Wednesday. Ganjhu's daughter-in-law was also severely thrashed by the locals and is admitted to a local hospital."
"On the day of Sarhul festival, two boys died in an accident. The couple were blamed as they had refused to accept Sarhul puja flowers and breached the sanctity of the puja, resulting in the tragedy that befell the area," OC Gupta stated.
Seconding OC Gupta's statements, Latehar superintendent of police (SP) Anjani Anjan said, "A total of 13 people, including two 'pahans' (tribal clerics), have been arrested in connection with the lynching. The 'pahans', identified as Dhiraj Munda and Butru Pahan, instigated the rural folks, who lynched the elderly couple. All were remanded to judicial custody. Further probe is on."
The bodies have been sent to the Latehar sadar hospital for the post-mortem examination, police added.