Nabarangpur, Mar 12: A woman was allegedly murdered by her fellow villagers on suspicion of practicing witchcraft at Kenduguda village under the Jharigaon block in Nabarangpur district.
As per the complaint lodged by the deceased Raibari Santa's daughter, Butuli, Raibari resided with her family in Kenduguda village. However, several villagers frequently engaged in altercations with Raibari, accusing her of practicing witchcraft. After enduring prolonged harassment, Raibari lodged a written complaint with the Jharigaon police. Subsequently, the police summoned both parties for mediation.
On March 7, a group of villagers, including Sarathi Santa, Kajali Santa, Muguri Santa, Champa Santa, Paladu Santa, and Matiri Santa, forcefully entered Raibari's residence while she was asleep. They assaulted her and hurled derogatory remarks at her. Later, they dragged Raibari to the house of Muguri Santa. Butuli and her siblings were so terrified that they hesitated to inquire about their mother's whereabouts from Muguri's house. Following this incident, Raibari went missing.
Butuli filed a police report upon learning that Raibari had been killed and buried.
On Monday, the Jharigaon police team recovered Raibari's body, which was buried three kilometers away from the village. The retrieval occurred in the presence of the Tehsildar and Magistrate Sankar Patnaik. Subsequently, the police transferred the body to the Jharigaon Community Health Centre for post-mortem examination.
After registering a case, the police detained several villagers for interrogation regarding the incident.
