Guwahati: A couple was allegedly set ablaze and killed by a group of villagers in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district after being suspected of practising witchcraft, police said on Wednesday.
The incident occurred on Tuesday night at No. 1 Beloguri Munda village in the Howraghat area. According to police, the attackers first assaulted the couple with sharp weapons inside their house before setting the dwelling on fire, resulting in their deaths.
Villagers reportedly accused the victims of engaging in witchcraft and blamed them for bringing misfortune to the surrounding area. The deceased have been identified as Gardi Birowa (43) and Mira Birowa (33).
Senior officials from the police and civil administration have reached the spot and launched an investigation to identify and nab the culprits.
“The area remains deeply affected by superstition. People still act on rumours, which leads to such tragic incidents,” an official said.
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Apart from various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), witch-hunting is a punishable offence under state law.
In 2016, the Assam Assembly unanimously passed the ‘Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2015’, making any offence under the Act as non-bailable, cognizable and non-compoundable to eliminate the superstition from society.
The act aims to provide effective measures against witch-hunting, punish offenders and eliminate torture, oppression, and killings and offer relief and rehabilitation to victims.
The act seeks to tackle a deep-rooted social issue in Assam, particularly one that disproportionately affects women, by strengthening the legal framework to curb violence driven by superstition.
