Four people, including two women, were arrested on Monday late night for allegedly thrashing two elderly tribal women at Harijan tola under town police station in Giridih district on the suspicion that they were practising witchcraft, and were also forced to drink filth, town police Officer in-Charge Aadikant Mahto and Lalita Kujur O/C Mahila police station said.
The arrested were among a group of people which had allegedly dragged the four elderly persons out of their homes at Harijan Tola and beat them to the level of injury with sticks on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, a release by the police said.
The arrested included four villagers, identified as Dira Das, his wife Shanti Devi, daughter Hiriya Devi and son-in-law Hari Das. Blood-soaked sticks suspected to have been used in the crime have been seized. One of the accused, Prameshwar Das, is still absconding.
The accused have been booked under relevant sections of the IPC and Anti-witchcraft Act, 2001, the SP said.
Giridih superintendent of police, Surendra Kumar Jha, said that the police administration has taken serious note of the incident and has also formed a committee to probe the matter and called the incidentreally unfortunate,added SP.