Five Muslim widows branded as ‘witches’ by villagers and a local cleric were paraded naked, beaten and forced to eat human excrement in a remote village of Deoghar district in India.
“On Sunday morning the victims were taken to a playground where hundreds had assembled to watch the ghastly incident,” deputy inspector general of police Murari Lal Meena told the BBC. “No one in the mob came forward to rescue the victims as they were being stripped and beaten up,” he said.
Four people is said to have been arrested in connection with the incident while complaints were lodged against 11 other villagers, including 6 women. The victims are now under police custody.
Similar incidents have already occurred in the past where hundreds of people, mostly women, have been killed for allegedly being witches.
According to experts, superstitious beliefs, which are still being rampantly followed in India, are behind some of these crimes.
