Man Kills 70-Year-Old Mother Over Witchcraft Suspicion In Jharkhand

A 41-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing his 70-year-old mother on suspicion that she practiced witchcraft, police said on Monday. The incident occurred in Bhadra Digha village under the Gopikander police station area.

According to police, the attack took place on October 28, when the accused allegedly stabbed his mother, Muni Soren. The elderly woman, who had been receiving treatment at a Dumka hospital, succumbed to her injuries on Saturday.

“The accused was arrested on Sunday from his house in Madhuban and remanded to judicial custody,” Gopikander Police Station Officer-in-Charge Sumit Bhagat told PTI.

Bhagat said, “It was only after the death of the woman that her daughter lodged a complaint against her brother for the murder. He suspected his mother to be practicing witchcraft, and held her responsible for his 18-year-old daughter’s recent death.”

Police said the accused had previously attempted to kill his mother as well.

“The man confessed that on the night of October 28, he was heavily drunk and could not stop thinking about his deceased daughter, and in a fit of rage, went to her sister’s house and stabbed his mother several times,” Bhagat added.

Officers have also recovered the knife used in the murder.

Bhagat further stated that the police plan to conduct awareness sessions on the Jharkhand Witchcraft Prevention Act, 2001, in remote and forested areas of the district.

“We will be holding talks with the District Legal Services Authority (DALSA) to conduct awareness camps in villages, which are located in dense forests and where illiteracy is quite high, leading to such incidents,” he said.

With PTI inputs