Kabisuryanagar: Two days after villagers allegedly beat a woman to death and brutally assaulted three others over suspicion of witchcraft at Madhurajhola village in Kaniari panchayat under this police limit in Ganjam district, the village has turned into a ghost town as all of the 200 houses in the village were found locked up. Fearing police action, all the villagers except a few elderly people have done a vanishing act, Friday while police patrolling is still on in the village. A small trader who comes to the village said that he had never seen the village so empty in his life ever before. So far police have filed five cases while 33 people have been produced in court. “There are no children in the village school and Anganwadi centre here,” said headmaster Subrat Rao Dora.
Moreover, many residents have shifted away their domestic animals and vehicles to the houses of their relatives living in nearby villages. IIC Prabhat Sahu said that a number of accused are still absconding and arrests could rise in the days to come. The deceased was identified as Jhunu Nahak, 50, wife of Yudhisthir Nahak of the village. Jhunu’s sons Jogeswar and Sagar in their police complaint alleged that residents of the same village lynched their mother. Those who suffered serious injuries were Yudhisthir Nahak, Rajendra Nahak and Bishnu Nahak. After the brutal killing of the woman, police have launched an investigation and detained 15 men and 40 women so far.
Police said that they are interrogating the detainees. Four platoons of police forces have been deployed in the village. This step was taken as a precautionary measure to prevent further deterioration of law and order. The incident is the result of a fall out after the death of five kids, one by one, in the village a month back. Villagers convened a meeting and tried to take help of a sorcerer to find out the exact reason behind the death of the kids. However, police got a tip-off regarding the meeting and dispersed the gathering. However, later that night, a woman, who was possessed as per the villagers’ claims, blamed Yudhisthir Nahak, Rajendra Nahak, Bishnu Nahak and Maheswar Nahak for the death of the kids. A youth identified as Gudu Nahak assaulted Yudhisthir and hit him on the head.
Later Yudhisthir lodged a police complaint. However, the move by Yudhisthir angered the other villagers. They then targeted the houses of Rajendra and Bishnu and attacked them and their family members. They tied Rajendra and Bishnu to poles and mercilessly thrashed the two. They were finally released after block chairperson Birendra Khatai intervened. Yudhisthir, in the meanwhile, had fled the village. Unable to find him, the mob attacked his family members. In the process, Yudhisthir’s wife Jhunu suffered serious injuries and died before help arrived.