Acting swiftly over the incident of witch-hunting, that took place on Saturday at Itehe village under Budmu police station in Ranchi, District legal Services Authority (DlSA) Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh handed over a cheque of Rs25,000 to the deceased’s son Govind Oraon as an interim compensation for immediate relief to the family.
Bhukhli Devi (65) was brutally thrashed to death in front of her granddaughter on Saturday, immediately after a local kangaroo court ordered her elimination.
“A cheque of Rs25,000 was handed over to the deceased son by DlSA on the directions of Justice DN Patel, Executive Chairman of Jharkhand State legal Services Authority (JHAlSA)” said the DlSA Secretary.
According to Singh, Justice Patel took cognisance of the media reports and immediately ordered an interim relief to the family.
“Rest of the amount under the provision will be given during the trial,” Singh said. Judicial Magistrate SB Sharma and Officer in Charge of Budmu Police Station Rakesh Ranjan Singh were also present on the occasion.
Explaining the incident, Oraon said that one person after consuming excessive liquor got senseless following which his family members went to an ‘Ojha’ to know the reasons behind it. The quack told them that an elderly woman with a son was responsible for the black magic that killed the ailing villagers.
“The villagers without thinking about the consequences, zeroed in to my mother after holding a meeting, immediately denouncing her, stormed her with sticks and then killed her before my daughter, said Oraon. “Fraternal enmity among the family was the reasons behind the killing,” Oraon added.
According to Budmu OC, FIR against 12 named accused and several other unknown persons have been lodged which include the names of co-villagers Krishna Gope, Mahadeo Oraon, Shivshankar Oraon, Sunil Oraon, Santu lohra, Prem Oraon etc.