Tribal couple beaten to death for ‘witchcraft’

Bhandara: A tribal couple from Davezari Tola in Bhandara district was beaten to death by villagers on Saturday on suspicion of practising black magic. In order to destroy the evidence, the villagers buried the bodies in Davezari forest.
As the police received information about the double murder, 16 villagers were rounded up. On sustained interrogation, the villagers led the police to the spot where the bodies were buried.The police have exhumed the bodies and sent it for post mortem at Tumsar.
Davezari Tola is a tribal village under the jurisdiction of Sihora police station. Ten years ago, Yadavrao Narba Dhok and his wife Kausalyabai shifted to Davezari Tola from Bagheda. They were allotted a house under government’s Gharkul scheme and were residing there since then.
In the last two months, three persons from the village died due to ill health. The villagers suspected that these deaths were due to sorcery by the Dhok couple. On August 26, a five-year-old boy from a family living in front of Dhok’s house died of some ailment. Blaming the couple for the kid’s death, a group of villagers stormed the Dhok residence on August 27 and dragged Yadavrao and Kausalyabai to a nearby temple. The irate mob started beating the couple with sticks mercilessly. The elderly couple sustained grievous injuries and died on the spot. The villagers then buried the bodies in the forest.
On getting a tip off about the incident, a police posse led by senior officers including superintendent of police Vinita Shahu visited the village and rounded up 16 villagers. Further investigations are being carried out.