Meghalaya: Sick man dies after being ‘exorcised’ by villagers on suspicions of being possessed
TURA | Sept 16, 2019:
In an unfortunate incident, a 32-year-old man, who was already unwell, lost his life after allegedly being 'excorcised' by villagers in North Garo Hills distritct of Meghalaya last week.
It was informed that the deceased was already sick from an alleged bout of pneumonia and 'worried' villagers interrogated him for hours in the hope of exorcising ghosts that had made him sick.
The sordid incident took place in the village of Dobakkol under Bajengdoba police station in North Garo Hills, late of Saturday, Sep 14 with the victim, identified as one Sengra R Marak (of the same village) succumbing to the continued interrogation by the villagers.
While details are still unclear on the circumstances of his death, bruise marks were also seen on the victim after social media posts of the death went viral.
According to sources, the victim had been suffering for some time with fever and apparently was blabbering incoherently in pain. Ignorant villagers, seeing his condition believed Marak to be possessed and instead of taking him to a nearby hospital called a traditional medicine man 'ojha' to exorcise the ghost from within his body.
The victim was apparently kept under a mosquito net to keep the spirit in check while he was beaten to try and get the ghost out of his body, despite the critical condition of the victim. The victim allegedly succumbed to his injuries on Sunday morning, Sep 15.
A villager, on the condition of anonymity stated, "They believed he was possessed by evil spirits and in trying to exorcise the ghost continued to beat him. He died from exhaustion from the event due to the poor health that he was in. He should have been taken to the hospital instead of what was done."
Meanwhile, no case has been filed by anyone on the incident, including the family members of the victim, as has been confirmed by NGH police.
"We are inquiring into the matter though no complaint has been filed by anyone, including the parents of the victim and the fiancée. The details posted on social media will also be verified. An inquiry team has gone to the spot and is yet to give a report. There will be more clarity once that is available," said superintendent of police (deputed), Billygraham Marak.
Sadly the deceased, Sengra Marak was due to be wed in the coming months.
