Meghalaya: Man murdered in broad daylight over allegations of witchcraft
RESUBELPARA:
One villager in Meghalaya’s North Garo Hills (NGH) district hacked his neighbour to death after suspecting him of practising witchcraft.
The incident took place in Dengnanggre village near Achotchongre under Bajengdoba PS on Friday.
According to police reports, the suspect, identified as Henathson A Sangma, accused the victim, Daren Marak, of practising witchcraft.
Sangma then attacked the victim with an axe and hacked him to death.
“We have arrested the accused yesterday after the incident, and an investigation into the murder is currently on,” confirmed Superintendent of Police, NGH, Abraham T Sangma, adding that the suspect did not have any accomplices.
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Rumours of people practising witchcraft have proved extremely dangerous for many, with similar cases reported in many areas across the state.
In August 2020, a man killed his stepbrother over suspicions of witchcraft.
However, the most infamous of these cases in the Garo Hills region came after a family of five were chased and killed in Mrigre village under Rongram in West Garo Hills (WGH) over similar suspicions.
The incident took place in 2015, and a case against almost the entire village is still being played out in court.
Interestingly, miscreants in some villages are using the fear of witchcraft to their advantage.
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If reports are to be believed, a case emerged in WGH in which villagers received demand notes from unknown individuals.
The modus operandi of the miscreants was to extort the victims.
According to the reports, if a victim refused to cooperate, they would receive a note that threatened to accuse them of practising witchcraft.
An FIR into one such case was registered recently in Tikrikilla PS, and the matter is under investigation.
(Edited by Andre Kongri)
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