Korukonda: Police arrested six persons on the charge of witchcraft practice at Chitapari-4 village under Orkel police limits in Malkangiri district. Orkel police registered a case (12/25) and produced the accused persons in court Sunday.
The accused were identified as Tikendra Dehari, 25, Khirendra Kumar Nag, 27, Ramu Mandavi, 44, Jagannath Nag, 22, Kamaluram Nag, 23, and Mangaturam Baghel, 40.
Police said that the suspects hail from the Kotwali and Darbha police jurisdictions in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. A car used by the accused persons and ritual items from the shrine were also seized by the police.
The investigation is being led by SI Ajit Singh Bariha, Orkel police station Officer-in-Charge Dhiren Patnaik said. The local administration had granted permission for a religious programme to be conducted from Friday to Sunday at Chitapari-4 village. However, on the second day of the ritual, some residents informed the police that a group of individuals were performing suspicious activities like witchcraft and sorcery.
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A police team, led by the Orkel IIC rushed to the spot to conduct a probe. During probe they found that some individuals, including priests from Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur area, were conducting rituals with a cot locally called Khatuli in the village.
Villagers claimed the rituals were linked to the deaths of some villagers and animals last year in quick succession. This fuelled suspicions of witchcraft and sorcery practice.
The situation escalated when villagers identified a 67-year-old woman Bati Khil and labelled her a witch. Later, they tried to ostracise her from the community by banishing her from the village.
Police rescued the elderly woman and arrested six individuals in this connection.
PNN
