Witchcraft suspicion: Two brothers tied to pole, assaulted in Jharkhand village

“The incident occurred on January 1 between 8 pm and 9 pm. Sanjay and Ajay Oraon were beaten with lathis and bricks. They received grievous injuries,” said Gumla Sub-Division Police Officer Manish Chand Lal.

While Sanjay, the elder of the two, suffered injuries in his back and face, his younger brother Ajay suffered head injuries and one of his eyes was gouged.

Ajay, who worked as a labourer in Tamil Nadu, had come home after a gap of two years to celebrate the New Year with his family.

According to victims’ complaint, this was the third time in a year that they had been targeted by the villagers, including mukhiya Sugima Devi, for practising witchcraft. They said they approached the police multiple times but they continued to be targeted.

“We are probing the angle if they had given a complaint before and action will be taken accordingly,” said SDPO Lal.

Both the victims as well as their assailants belong to the tribal community.

According to Sanjay, problems for the family began a year ago after his first cousin died while working in a factory in Ranchi.

“The mukhiya along with others took us to a quack who told us that my parents had a ghost in our house, which may trouble the entire village. The quack told them to cast us out or kill us,” he told The Indian Express. Following this, the family was threatened several times, he said.

After the police failed to be of much help, Sanjay said, he feared the same fate as what had happened in Nagar Siskari Tola of the same block. In 2019, four people of the village, who were known to be “ojhas” or healers, were killed on suspicion of practising witchcraft.

On January 1, Sanjay said, he was returning home on foot along with his brother from a New Year picnic when they came across a motorcyclist, whom they managed to convince for a ride home. While Ajay took the lift, Sanjay continued to walk.

After some time, when Sanjay called his brother on his cellphone, there was no response. Alarmed by this, he rushed home.

“Near our house, I saw my brother being thrashed by the villagers, and when I intervened, I, too, was beaten with bricks and lathis. Then they tied us to a pole and kept beating us. When my parents and sister came and tried to intervene, they too were assaulted,” said Sanjay.

“The mukhiya, instead of helping us, was baying for our blood and inciting the crowd to beat us as we practised witchcraft. I somehow managed to escape and reached Sisai Police Station.”

He said the police took them to the community health centre in Sisai, where his brother was referred to Sadar Hospital, Gumla.

“Since there was no vehicle, my brother could not be moved immediately,” Sanjay said. “We reached Sadar on January 3, and the doctors asked for various tests but the eye doctor was not available. Sanjay is still in pain and his eyes have not been checked. We will wait for the doctor to arrive on Tuesday.”