India: 75-year-old woman branded 'witch', killed in Jharkhand, another fed human faeces in similar incident in Bihar

The victim's neighbour killed her using sticks and a sharp weapon

A 75-year-old woman was branded a witch and lynched in the Salami village from the district of Gumla, in the Indian state of Jharkhand, on September 9.

The victim, identified as Shanicharwa Khadia, was sitting outside her home, when her neighbour Pandu Oraon assaulted her with sticks and a sharp weapon, according to local media reports.

Mangaleshwar, the son of the victim, told local media that his mother died on the spot.

“Oraon called my mother a witch and yelled that he used to see her apparition wherever he went," he was quoted as saying.

Oraon had tried to kill her in 2018 as well, Mangleshwar claimed.

Superintendent of police (SP) Hrudeep P Janardhan was quoted as saying: “The accused will be arrested soon. While the cases of witch-hunting have reduced, still a lot of awareness is needed.”

In a similar incident, a woman was allegedly thrashed by her family in the Indian state of Bihar last week. They shaved her head and force-fed her human faeces after labelling her a witch, an Indian news outlet reported.

Similar incidents had also made headlines in May and August from India.