Neighbors Allegedly Murder Father, Son On Suspicion Of Practicing Witchcraft

A father and his son in India's Odisha state were allegedly beaten to death by their fellow villagers Saturday after they were suspected of practicing witchcraft.

Luka Dalabehera and his son Anak Dalabehera, aged 55 and 22, respectively, were allegedly called out from their home in the tribal-dominated village of Muthaguda by a few of their fellow villagers and were assaulted in a forest, Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times reported, citing sub-divisional police officer Dilip Kumar Nayak of the R. Udayagiri block.

"The father-son duo was called to a nearby forest where the villagers held a meeting before thrashing them to death. A child had died in the village a month ago and villagers suspected that the father-son duo’s witchcraft led to his death," the officer said.

According to police, the older Dalabehera died in the forest while the badly injured son managed to escape from the scene and was able to return home. However, Anak also succumbed to his injuries at home.

Following their deaths, a village official reported the incident to police in the village of Adaba.

Some Muthaguda villagers have been detained over their alleged involvement in the duo's deaths, authorities said.

"My father and brother were killed on baseless suspicions of sorcery. The police should arrest the culprits immediately and punish them," Luka Dalabehera's daughter, Ludhia, was quoted as saying.

A similar killing happened three weeks ago in the Indian state of Assam when an unnamed 50-year-old man was beaten to death by a group of villages who had suspected him of being a witch.

The residents of Bogoribari village in the Baksa district had held a meeting on May 24 and accused the man of witchcraft while some said he was possessed by a witch. The group then beat the man to death.

Police officers responding to the scene were also allegedly attacked by the villagers. The victim was rushed to a government-run hospital, where he later died due to his injuries.

Authorities detained five people allegedly involved in the death and an investigation into the incident was launched.