Justice after 31 years : Six sentenced for Assam witch-hunting murder
A court in Assam's Kamrup district has sentenced six persons to life imprisonment for killing an 80-year-old woman on suspicion of practising witchcraft, 31 years after the crime, officials said.
Rangia Additional Sessions and District Judge Mukul Chetia sentenced all six to life imprisonment under Section 302 of the IPC for murder and an additional five years for destroying evidence, they said.
The woman, identified as Maria Boro, was beaten and set ablaze before her half-burnt body was buried near her house at Bordangerikuchi village under Baihata Chariali police station in 1995.
The six convicts, all residents of the same village, were identified as Soneswar Boro, Jungle Boro, Suraj Boro, Kandura Boro, Hareshwar Boro and Dhanla Boro.
Police had registered a case against them under various sections relating to rioting, unlawful assembly, murder, house trespass and causing disappearance of evidence.
The court began hearing the case in 2013 and pronounced the judgment on Wednesday.
The incident occurred after a person died following traditional treatment, following which the accused allegedly blamed Boro for the death, claiming that she practised witchcraft.
The state government enacted the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act in 2018, making witch-hunting a cognisable and non-bailable offence.
In 2024, the state Cabinet approved the Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024, aimed at preventing evil and magical healing practices carried out in the name of treatment.
