Indian 'witch' tied to tree, beaten by mob

[almaty 19]

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- An Indian woman accused of being a witch was tied to a tree and beaten by a mob, with television footage of the incident aired in India on Friday.

Villagers tied the woman to a tree after a man accused her of practicing black magic.

Nishant Tiwari, a police official in northeastern India, said a journalist who filmed the beating called him Thursday to report the incident, which took place in the village of Dumaria in central eastern Bihar state.

He arrived to find the woman tied to a tree, her hair partially cut and her complexion ruddy from being being slapped. She had no serious injuries.

"I was appalled at what I saw because people should be more socially responsible than to do this," Tiwari said.

Authorities arrested six people, including the man who admitted to hiring her services as a witch. They were due to appear before a magistrate on Friday.

Ram Ayodhya, who could face up to seven years in prison for his role in the attack, told police he was justified in beating the woman, Tiwari said.

Ayodhya said he paid her to use magic and prayer to improve his wife's health.

When his wife's condition deteriorated, Ayodhya accused her of performing black magic, Tiwari said, and a crowd soon gathered and tied her to the tree.

The woman seen being attacked is expected to testify when the suspects appear before the magistrate.

Tiwari said he was disturbed by the fact that a journalist filmed the incident before contacting authorities.

"The media filmed the incident, then called the police -- instead of the police first," Tiwari said.

CNN's partner network, CNN-IBN, reported that the incident took place close to the local police station.

It reported that there had been other such occurrences of mob justice in the state.

In Bhagalpur district in August 2007, a man caught trying to snatch a woman's chain was beaten up, with police looking on, and later tied to a motorcycle and dragged around by a police officer.

In September, in Lucknow's Wazirganj area, an angry mob beat a man to death after a two-and-a-half-year old girl was allegedly found sexually assaulted and murdered in his house. E-mail to a

question: is the Witch an old tradition in Indian culture or brought about by Europe/English influence ?

Edited March 28, 2008 by almaty

[Sister Fracas 5]

Tiwari said he was disturbed by the fact that a journalist filmed the incident before contacting authorities.

"The media filmed the incident, then called the police -- instead of the police first," Tiwari said.

nice.....

[CarolynRitesh 0]

Oh my, I need to google this, haven't heard a word about it in Bangalore. Mob justice is a big thing here, and it can be scary! A friend of mine was driving his jeep and accidentally hit a man and woman with a small child on a motorcycle. They fell over and were not hurt, but a mob of people immediately rushed the jeep, smashed the windshield, pulled him out of the car and started to beat the living daylights out of him. Luckily, there were about 5 other people with him, and they pulled him back in and drove away...

In fact, it is recommended that you get away from a scene like that if you are involved because driver's etc. have been killed, cars/trucks/busses lit on fire, etc.

As far as this particular story goes, if the man's wife had gotten better, everything would have been fine, but since she didn't, it is automatically 'black magic' - if he didn't like those types of things, he should have gone to an official 'doctor' then!!

[almaty 19]

is the "witch" an old tradition in India or inspired by European in fluence?

[Imua 0]

The fear of witches(bokshi) is very big in Nepal - it is very much an indigenous Nepali custom. I read in a book(Tantric Healing in the KTM Valley) there was a woman accused of being a bokshi who was attacked at Swayambhunath Temple in the late '90s and had sh!t smeared on her face in full view of bystanders and tourists...

http://www.womenepal.org/womenfoundation_witch_hunting.html

Edited March 28, 2008 by Pattu Rani

[almaty 19]

whoa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Saddle Bronc 124]

is the "witch" an old tradition in India or inspired by European in fluence?

Indians have been dabbling with soothsayers, etc. since near-prehistoric times. Maybe the question is if it actually INFLUENCED Europeans. Edited March 28, 2008 by CherryXS

[mawilson 2,133]

VJ Trollie, sitting in a tree,

K, I, S, S, I, N, G

Beaten by a mob in New Jer-se-e,

Now let's go and have curry.

[almaty 19]

is the "witch" an old tradition in India or inspired by European in fluence?

Indians have been dabbling with soothsayers, etc. since near-prehistoric times. Maybe the question is if it actually INFLUENCED Europeans.

I kew i would get the facts from you, brother sriniv..thanks

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

where is arjit?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

They tried to kill me man!!!

I told them I was just a troll and not a witch but they wouldn't listen!!!

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

They tried to kill me man!!!

I told them I was just a troll and not a witch but they wouldn't listen!!!

maybe the witches there are quite ugly and difficult to tell apart from trolls