By Mubasshir Mushtaq
MUMBAI, India
Indian police arrested seven people in the northeastern state of Assam for allegedly beheading a woman villager accused of "witchcraft", local media reported.
Assam state police officials said that 63-year-old Purni Orang, a tribal woman and mother of five, was blamed for illness in Bhimajuli village in Sonitpur district, reported The NorthEast Today on Tuesday.
The incident happened on Monday, when a mob of 200 men dragged Orang from her house, stripped her naked and beheaded her, as they purportedly suspected her of being a “witch.”
The beheading took place after a woman accused Orang of being a witch in a tribal court. Many villagers believed that their illness was because of the presence of a “witch” among them.
The incident came at a time when the Congress party-ruled state government has been considering an anti-witch-hunt law, to check rising incidents of superstition-related deaths.
With Monday’s incident, the total number of people reportedly killed because of witchcraft allegations stands at 90 in the past six years.
