Five members of family burnt alive over witchcraft allegations

 

By Sumesh Rajan | 8 July 2025

Purnia, Bihar, INDIA: In a horrifying case of mob violence fuelled by superstition, five members of a family were brutally beaten and burnt alive in Tetgama village under the Muffasil police station limits in Bihar’s Purnia district late on Sunday night, July 6. The victims, accused of practising witchcraft, included three women. The atrocity has triggered widespread outrage and renewed scrutiny of law and order in the state.

According to police officials, the victims — Babulal Oraon (50), his wife Sita Devi (48), his mother Kato Devi (65), his son Manjit Oraon (25), and daughter-in-law Rani Devi (23) — were attacked by a violent mob of villagers. The incident reportedly stemmed from the recent death of a child in the village and the illness of another, which some locals irrationally attributed to "black magic" allegedly practised by the Oraon family.

The attack was witnessed by the couple’s 16-year-old son, Sonu Kumar, who managed to escape and alert his maternal grandparents. He later filed a complaint with the police, recounting the horrifying sequence of events.

“A meeting was held in the village on Sunday July 6 night, led by Nakul Oraon. Around 200 people gathered and declared my mother a witch. They dragged my family members out, beat them with sticks, doused them in petrol, and set them ablaze,” Sonu told reporters.

After killing the five family members, the mob stuffed the charred bodies into sacks and dumped them in a pond over a kilometre from the house, concealing them beneath water hyacinth.

Police were informed early Monday July 7 morning and immediately launched an investigation. Personnel from Muffasil police station and two other police stations reached the site. All five bodies, more than 80% burnt, were recovered. A postmortem was conducted overnight in the presence of a medical board and videography, and cremation was carried out according to family customs.

Purnia Superintendent of Police Sweety Sahrawat and Assistant SP Alok Ranjan are leading the investigation. A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed, and raids are ongoing to apprehend other accused.

So far, three people — including prime accused Nakul Oraon and the tractor driver involved in dumping the bodies — have been arrested. An FIR has been lodged naming 23 individuals and listing 150–200 others as unidentified accused.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Pramod Kumar Mandal confirmed the arrests and seizure of the tractor used in the crime. “It was a brutal and premeditated act rooted in superstition. No one involved will be spared,” he said.

Purnia Sub-Divisional Police Officer Pankaj Kumar Sharma added, “Sonu Kumar’s statement was crucial. The villagers held his mother responsible for the death of a child. This false belief led to the mass violence.”

District Magistrate of Purnia also confirmed the arrests and assured continued action. “We recovered the bodies with the help of the administration and conducted postmortem with full protocol. Cremation was done with family consent. The police acted swiftly, and more arrests are expected soon,” she said.

The gruesome incident has sparked political uproar. Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar State Assembly Tejashwi Yadav condemned the government’s failure to curb rising mob violence. “Five members of a family burnt alive in Purnia. Law and order has collapsed. Criminals are emboldened while the government looks the other way,” he posted on X (formerly Twitter), launching a scathing attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s administration.

The mass killing in Purnia follows a string of violent incidents in Bihar, highlighting the dangers of unchecked superstition and mob justice. The case has intensified calls for stronger awareness and enforcement against practices rooted in witch-hunting and black magic beliefs — still prevalent in parts of rural India.

The investigation continues, and authorities have promised swift justice for the victims