Elderly Jharkhand man forced to drink urine over witchcraft suspicion
What's the story
In a shocking incident in Jharkhand's Latehar district, villagers allegedly forced an elderly man to drink urine after accusing him of witchcraft. The incident took place on Tuesday when Virendra Singh was blamed for a woman's death in a road accident due to alleged black magic. Around 15 villagers held a meeting and accused Singh of sorcery before forcing him to consume urine.
Family targeted
Villagers tried to force Singh's wife to drink urine
The villagers also tried to force Singh's wife to drink the same urine, but their son Brajesh Munda stopped them. Heena Devi, a community health worker, also intervened during the incident but was beaten up and chased away with her husband, Virendra. Such incidents of witch-hunting are not uncommon in Jharkhand, where superstitions run deep in some communities.
Legal obstacles
Singh went to police station to file complaint
After the incident, Singh went to the Netarhat police station to file a complaint but was allegedly turned away. Sub-Divisional Magistrate Vipin Kumar Dubey said the Station In-charge has been asked to probe and take action against those responsible once a formal complaint is filed. SP Kumar Gaurav said that police have started questioning villagers about the incident but no official case has been registered yet.