india

Updated: Jul 21, 2014 01:03 IST

A woman in a village of East Champaran district in Bihar was beaten to death on charges of allegedly practicing witchcraft, police said.

Saraswati Devi, 45, succumbed to her injuries at Motihari sadar hospital after she was badly beaten by her co-villagers, on Saturday.

“The villagers also forced her to consume human excreta,” police said.

In a statement to the police, the deceased’s husband Kailash Prasad accused 14 villagers of dragging and thrashing the woman to death.

The two sons of Saraswati —Himanshu and Ramsurat — also sustained injuries when they tried to save their mother.

“After recording the statement, the case was sent to Madhuban police station,” said Priya Ranjan, police inspector.

In separate incidents in June, more than eight women were assaulted and subjected to humiliation, in which 27 persons had been made accused. But not a single arrest has been made so far in these cases.

However, ASP PK Mandal claimed, “Police have been told to adopt zero tolerance against such incidents and take prompt action whenever reported to the police stations”.