Suspicion over a person practising sorcery took an ugly turn as several villagers of Badabanga under the Daringbadi police limits in Kandhamal district allegedly killed the man by thrashing him and later burned his body.
According to reports, health condition of one Manoj Pradhan of the village had deteriorated and he died a week ago. Pradhan’s son Budu suspected that sorcery practised by one Subhas Chandra Majhi (40) led to his father’s death.
In an act of revenge, Budu along with some villagers barged into the house of Majhi on Friday and started thrashing him in the presence of his wife Santoshini, their two-year-old son and four-year-old daughter.
Santoshini requested the assailants to pardon her husband but in vain. The attackers dragged Majhi out of the house and beat him black and blue leading to his death on the spot. They took the body to a nearby crematorium and burned it.
Santoshini, somehow, managed to reach the Daringibadi police station, 23 km away from the village, and lodged a complaint about the incident. Police have started investigation after registering a murder case.
Though 80 per cent of Majhi’s body had been burnt by the time the police reached the spot, the skull was recovered. Seven persons were detained in connection with the case for questioning.
