Suspecting neighbours of doing black magic, Chhattisgarh family kills 4, including infant

The four accused adults were arrested on Friday, and the minor was also booked in the case, police said.

The deceased were Chetram Ram Lal (34), his sisters Jamuna Bai (28) and Yashoda Bai (30), and Jamuna’s 11-month-old son.

Deputy SP Kishore Wasnik said, “For several months, Ramnath’s 22-year-old daughter has been suffering from body pain and convulsions, during which she would claim that Mongrabai would kill her.”

Mongrabai is the mother of Chetram, Jamuna and Yashoda. The naming of Mongrabai by the 22-year-old while she suffered convulsions was what made the Patle family believe that the neighbours were practising black magic, police said.

An officer said that the Patle family had gone to Mongrabai and told her to “stop doing black magic”, and that the woman told them she was not doing anything of the sort. Even other local residents tried to convince the Patle family that they were mistaken in thinking that black magic was involved, the officer said.

But this made the Patle family “feel like no one is paying heed to their concerns”, he said.

Eventually, they allegedly decided to take matters into their own hands, and at around 6 pm on Thursday, Ramnath, Lalita and their three children allegedly attacked Mongrabai’s three children and grandson with a sword-like weapon and a hammer, police said. Mongrabai was not at home at the time, and her youngest daughter, Charbai (18), managed to escape by running away, officers said.

“We have arrested four accused and booked their minor daughter on murder charges. They have been sent to judicial custody. Both families are landless labourers and depend on daily wages for their livelihood,” Deputy SP Wasnik said.