An Adivasi family — a man, his wife, and their eight-year-old son — was hacked to death by fellow villagers who accused them of practising witchcraft in Kakrang Bartoli village under Pesrar police station limits in Lohardaga district. The incident took place Wednesday night when 47-year-old Laxman Nagesia, his wife Bifani, 45, and son Ramvilas, 8, were asleep in their house. Police said three villagers entered the house with a spade and attacked the family, killing them on the spot. SDPO Kisko Vedant Shankar said: “Although the family member has named and identified three accused, we will investigate the matter. The inquiry will be done to know the exact reason behind the killing.” Lohardaga SP Sadique Anwar Rizvi later said that all three accused, who belong to the same village, have been arrested. At the time of the attack, Laxman’s daughter-in-law, Sukhmaniya Nagesia, was at home while his elder son was away. She alleged that the assailants locked her in a room before killing the others. “The villagers had been harassing our family for a long time, accusing us of practising witchcraft. A village meeting was even held over the issue earlier. That night, they attacked my in-laws and my brother-in-law with a spade and strangled them to death,” she said. Taking cognisance of the incident, Jharkhand Legal Services Authority (JHALSA) Executive Chairman and High Court Judge Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad directed the police and the district judiciary to take immediate action. Following the directive, the Principal District Judge constituted a team of judicial officers who visited the village and handed over an interim compensation cheque of Rs 20,000 to the bereaved family.
