Patna- Five members of a family were brutally killed in Bihar’s Purnea district after being attacked by a group of villagers who suspected them of practising witchcraft, police said on Monday. The victims, identified as Babulal Oraon, Sita Devi, Manjeet Oraon, Rania Devi, and Tapto Mosmat, were blamed by the villagers for recent incidents of deaths in Tetgama village, leading to a violent scuffle.

Police found the dead bodies of four individuals near a pond on Sunday, while a child survivor from the family told police that all the villagers were involved in the assault that led to five individuals losing their lives. The dead bodies were completely charred. Purnea police recovered the dead bodies and sent them for the post-mortem. The incident, which took place in a tribal village, was allegedly triggered after the son of a local resident, Ramdev Oraon, lost his life despite undergoing traditional healing rituals (jhaar-phoonk). Another child in the family had also fallen ill, further fuelling suspicion among the villagers. No formal complaint (FIR) has been registered yet as the child survivor is in trauma and unable to provide detailed statements.

Police teams, along with the dog squad, are patrolling the village, which remains largely deserted following the incident. Purnea Superintendent of Police Sweety Sehrawat confirmed that the violence was linked to superstitions surrounding jhaar-phoonk and tantra-mantra practices. “The victims were beaten by the villagers on suspicion of witchcraft,” Sehrawat said. Senior police official Pankaj Kumar Sharma said, “One individual, Nakul Kumar, has been arrested for allegedly inciting the villagers during the attack.”

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav targeted the Nitish Kumar-led government over the incident, posting on X: “Two days ago, three people were murdered in a massacre in Siwan. Recently, three individuals were killed in Buxar and three more in Bhojpur. Now, five members of a family were killed in Purnea. Criminals are alert, the Chief Minister is unconscious.”(IANS)