Phulbani: In a shocking incident, an elderly couple was forced to eat human excreta by some villagers here Saturday evening. The man was also beaten up mercilessly leading to the fracture of his leg over suspected sorcery at Sarangada Bazar colony here in Kandhamal district. The injured man has been identified as Merason Digal (60). He has been admitted to the district headquarters hospital in critical condition. The incident triggered tension in the area. The son of the couple filed a complaint at the local police station. Police have registered a case in this regard. Reports said, Merason had gone to local bazaar in search of some work Saturday evening.
On returning home, he found that there was no electricity supply in his house. He then went to a neighbour’s balcony and sat there waiting for the restoration of power. However, people staying in the house attacked Merason suspecting that he was performing black magic to harm them. Other villagers also joined and beat up Merason brutally with iron rods. Seeing the ruckus, Merason’s granddaughter informed his family about it. When his wife rushed to rescue Merason, villagers caught hold of her also. Then they forced the couple to eat human excreta and threatened with dire consequences, the complaint said. IIC of Saranggad police station Badhulika Biswal said that a case has been registered and all those involved in the incident will be arrested soon.