An Indian woman and her daughter were beaten and hacked to death in eastern India for allegedly practising witchcraft, police said on Saturday.
The killings took place in Jharkhand state’s West Singhbhum district on Thursday, senior police officer Anand Mohan Singh said.
The 56-year-old woman, Malti Devi, was attacked by her neighbour, also a distant relative, who accused her of witchcraft and blamed her for deaths in his family, Singh said.
“The woman recently performed some rituals at her place after which the suspect’s wife fell ill.
He, along with two others brutally beat the women with wooden sticks and later hacked them using a sharp edged weapon,” Singh said.
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The police launched investigations after the victim’s husband, who was not home at the time of the murders, reported the crime to the local police station. The three suspects are still on the run.
Some Indian states like Jharkhand have introduced a “Prevention of Witch Hunting Act” since 2000.
However, incidents of torture and murders of women branded as witches are still reported, particularly from poor and rural regions of the country where superstitious beliefs are common.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
