South Dinajpur: 'Witch' whiff in murder , 65-year-old tribal woman killed by neighbour

A 65-year-old tribal woman was allegedly beaten to death by a neighbour at Nahit in South Dinajpur’s Harirampur on Friday evening, her family claiming the attacker accused her of practising witchcraft.

Police arrested Jayram Kisku, 28, after a written complaint by victim Rumki Murmu’s son Gudum Kisku. SP Abhishek Gupta, however, said the police complaint did not mention witchcraft allegations.

Rumki lived in Nahit, some 40km from the district headquarters, under Shirshi gram panchayat. Reportedly, on Friday around 7pm, a drunk Jayram accused Rumki of being a witch and beat her up. Taken to the Harirampur Rural Hospital, she was declared dead.

As news spread, a Harirampur police team reached the village. Jayram was arrested the same night. Rumki’s body was sent to the Balurghat District Hospital for a post-mortem on Saturday.

Her son Gudum said he was away at work when his sister called him up to say their mother was being assaulted. “He (Jayram) claimed my mother was a witch and would ‘eat’ his child for which he beat her up mercilessly.” Gudum could not explain why the witch allegation was not cited in the police complaint.

The Paschim Banga Vigyan Mancha plans to visit the village soon for an awareness camp against superstition, Animesh Lahiri, the organisation’s district secretary, said.