6 arrested for slaying man over witchcraft

Six persons have been arrested in Raisen, in Madhya Pradesh, on charges of killing a man who they believed was practising black magic, police said on Thursday.

The arrested persons blamed the victim, Ramesh Baba, for causing the death of 56-year-old Puran Singh, who succumbed to jaundice. The six men killed Baba with knives and swords.

Puran Singh, from Sameri Khurd village, was suffering from jaundice and malaria. Though the local clinic doctor advised him to be taken to Bhopal for hospitalisation, his family decided to rely on quacks, a police official told IANS on Thursday.

When his condition continued to deteriorate, one of the quacks alleged that the illness was due to "jaadu tona" or black magic done on him. Puran Singh died on Thursday morning, after which his family attacked Baba with sharp-edged weapons.

 

--IANS

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