Six held in Odisha for killing woman, her 4 children after branding them as witches

The incident took place in the tribal-dominated Sundargarh district

Six persons, including a witch doctor, were arrested by the police in connection with the gruesome murder of five, including four children in Odisha’s tribal-dominated Sundargarh district.

They allegedly killed Mangri Munda, a 30-year-old tribal woman, and her four children, all aged below 12, including an infant, after branding them witches, the police said on Monday. The incident took place in Badindpur village under the Koida police station on the intervening night of January 24 and 25.

“During investigation it was ascertained that one Budhram used to practice sorcery. When the daughter of Debra Munda, a villager, fell ill, he took her to Budharam, but she died. After a few days, another daughter of Debra also fell ill. This time, the witch doctor told him that the woman [Mangri Munda] and her four children were witches and were responsible for his daughters’ illnesses,” said Kavita Jalan, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Rourkela), addressing a press conference.

“Without verifying if the witch doctor was misleading them, Debra and three brothers-in-law decided to wipe out the family. When Mangri’s husband was not at home, they broke open the door and brutally killed all five,” said Ms. Jalan.

The accused have been arrested under Section 302 of the IPC for murder, among others, and Section 4 and 6(1) of the Odisha Prevention of Witch Hunting Act, 2013.

Sharp rise

After the OPWH Act came into force, there has been sharp rise in the number of cases registered in various police stations across the State. In 2017, Odisha saw 99 cases of witch-hunting compared to 83 in 2016 and 58 in 2015.

According to the Odisha Rationalist Society, over 500 persons have been killed in witch-branding violence since 2010. Tribal dominated Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh and Keonjhar report high number of such violence. There have been efforts on part of the government, the police and non-government organisations to make people aware about the dangers of such beliefs, but violence continues to take its toll on the population.