Suspected to be witch, elderly Dalit woman burnt alive in Bihar

A Dalit woman, who was in her late 70s, was on Tuesday burnt alive for allegedly practising witchcraft in Bihar’s Purnea district, police said on Tuesday.

Ramavati Devi was burnt alive by a group of people in Kanp village under Mohanpur police station.

“Ramavati, a poverty-stricken woman, was first beaten and then burnt alive by her neighbours, who suspected her of practising witchcraft,” a police official said.

A case was lodged against six accused and four others on the statement of the victim’s daughter-in-law, he said.

“Police have arrested one accused and began investigation into the case. We will arrest all the accused soon,” the police official said.

The practice of branding women as witches and torturing them continues unabated in remote rural areas of Bihar. In the last two years, more than 250 women have been tortured and beaten on suspicion of practising witchcraft, police records say.

A couple of years ago, the Bihar Human Rights Commission (BHRC) directed the state government to expedite probes and trials of cases related to offences under the Prevention of Witch Hunting Act, 1999.