Baripada: Police Friday arrested seven persons on the charge of killing a 33-year-old tribal man suspecting him of practising black magic in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, an officer said.
Baripada, Sub-Divisional-Police Officer (SDPO), Prakash James Toppo at a press meet said that the deceased was identified as Pandu Munda of Kothabila village. Munda’s wife had informed the police about his missing since September 17, police said.
The SDPO said that a body stacked in a gunny bag was found floating in a canal of Subarnarekha Irrigation Project near village Kothabila on Tuesday.
Toppo said the arrested accused persons were also tribals and belonged to the same village.
The initial police investigation revealed that the residents of Kothabila village suspected Pandu Munda of practising black magic. They suspected his role in the death of two persons from the village and disturbance in the village.
In a ‘Kangaroo Court’ the villagers imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Pandu Munda which he refused to pay. On September 17, the villagers performed a puja to drive away the evil spirits from the village in which Pandu Munda did not attend.
On the same day Munda went to nearby village to watch football match, the police said, adding that while returning home in the evening, the villagers allegedly strangulated Munda with a towel who died instantly.
After Munda’s death, the body was kept in a gunny bag and dumped in a canal of Subarnarekha Irrigation Project, the SDPO said.
PTI