According to a news report on FirstPost, three women accused of practicing witchcraft were seized from their homes, stripped, had their faces blackened and were forced to walk down the village road in the Kiralaga-Ambapada village in the Sundargarh district in Odisha, India. Many villagers merely looked on while the incident occurred, but a few locals reported the crime to police. Following the incident, Talasara police arrested three suspects. In the past, similar acts have occurred in India; Nine years ago, following witchcraft allegations, a female was stripped, paraded down a village road in Tainsar and forced to consume excreta.
In the Orissa Post, a news report reveals that the three women were not alone in their humiliation and that there was, in fact, a fourth male victim. Those paraded down the village road include Patras Dungdung and his wife Christina, along with his neighbors Philomina Dungdung and Balamdina Sareng. The age of the victims range from 50-65 years old.
On Feb. 11, police arrived on the scene, led by RN Padhi, the inspector in charge of Talasara police, and put and end to the humiliating event. At the time of their arrival, some villagers were attempting to resolve the issue. The matter is now under further investigation, but police did arrested three suspects: Sanjam Soren, Ani Baa, and Prafulla Barla.
Prafulla Barla is a 25-year-old believer in Christ and a person who makes predictions for the local village. The villagers called for a meeting and asked Barla to offer predictions about the village and its residents. Barla blamed all recent deaths and accidents on four villagers, citing their engagement in witchcraft as the reason behind such events. Following Barla’s predictions, villagers became enraged and the inhuman crime ensued.
Representatives of the National Commission for Women (NCW) visited the crime scene. The NCW, established in 1992, is an organization located in Delhi, India that promotes and protects the interests of women. The NCW handles complaints related to torture, harassment, domestic violence, rape and other crimes against women and helps to ensure the expeditious investigation of such crimes.
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