Three persons including a woman have been arrested for reportedly removing four teeth of a 52-year-old man on the suspicion that he was practising ‘witchcraft’ at Neeladriraopeta village under Gandepalli police limits in East Godavari district.
The incident occurred on March 2 and the victim, identified as Pasagadugula Chinna Babu Rao, lodged a complaint with the police on March 8. The victim’s brother, Mr. Srinivas, is the prime accused in the case. Mr. Srinivas, his wife, and a neighbour hatched a plan to remove the teeth of Mr. Babu Rao. The brothers live in the same building.
Gandepalli sub-inspector Y. Ganesh Kumar said that Mr. Babu Rao had recently recovered from a paralytic stroke and had since been reading some literature. His brother and a neighbour started suspecting that Mr. Babu Rao was practising witchcraft and decided to remove his teeth to ensure that he could no longer practise it.
Mr. Srinivas reportedly feared that his brother might target his six-year-old son through black magic.
“We have registered a case. The three accused have been arrested and produced before a local court,” said Mr. Ganesh Kumar.
