Guwahati, India, 2008 June 10, IRNA
Four people of a tribal family were lynched by a mob in India's northeastern state of Assam for allegedly practicing witchcraft, officials said on Tuesday.
A police spokesman said the incident took place on Monday at village Milanpur in Sonitpur district, about 230 kilometers north of Assam's main city of Guwahati.
"A large mob armed with crude weapons attacked a family killing 65- year-old Lakhan Majhi, his wife, their son and daughter-in-law," police official Saurav Saikia said by telephone.
The mob then took the dead bodies and buried in a pit on the outskirts of the village.
Locals in the area accused the family of Majhi of casting evil spells on a youth who died Saturday after a brief illness.
"This is nothing but killings inspired by superstitions and we are following the two cases to arrest those involved in the barbaric attack," Saikia said. No arrests were made so far.
Police on Tuesday exhumed the corpses and begun an investigation.
"After police arrived in the village, all the male members fled the village with just a few women and girls around," another police official said.
At least 200 people were killed by rural mobs in the past five years for allegedly practicing witchcraft in the northeast.
Superstitious beliefs, black magic and demonology are integral to tribal custom in parts of Assam, Tripura and other northeast Indian states - Several tribal communities practice indigenous faiths, believed to be a mix of black magic and superstition, which are used to treat ailments or cast evil spells on adversaries.
The Assam police have intensified its special drive to curb this social crime.
Codenamed Project Prahari (Project Vigilant), the crusade includes community-policing measures, besides regular awareness campaigns among tribal chiefs and village elders.
The police campaign is now focusing on educating villagers and holding meetings in areas dominated by tribal people where this primitive practice of witchcraft is still going strong.
"We need to bring about a change in our attitude rather than trying to enforce the law. We have to create awareness about this social evil to stop such barbaric incidents from taking place," Assam Inspector General of Police Kula Saikia said.
