Five Women Are Beaten To Death In Rural India By Villagers Who Accused Them Of Being WITCHES

• The bodies of five women killed by villagers who accused them of practising witchcraft lie in plastic bags in Kanjia village in eastern Jharkhand state

Five women have been beaten to death by dozens of villagers in India who accused them of practicing witchcraft and blamed them for a series of misfortunes in the area.

Residents of Kinjia village, around 40km (25 miles) from Jharkhand state capital Ranchi, dragged the women out of their homes and attacked them with sticks and iron rods on Saturday, said Arun Kumar Singh, a deputy inspector-general of police in Ranchi.

The attackers blamed the women for several accidents and misfortunes suffered by villagers, including the death of an infant in Kinjia earlier in the week, Singh said.

• Police officers talk to villagers following the killing. Jharkhand police spokesman S.N. Pradhan claimed some had ganged up on the force, accusing them of the murders

Police have so far arrested around 50 people involved in the attack, mostly aged between 45 and 50. A large number of police officers have been deployed in the village to prevent any outbreak of violence.
Source: Mail Online