Guwahati: Five women and a man were injured in an incident of alleged witch hunting in Digboi in eastern Assam.
Local reports said here on Thursday that the six victims were cordoned in an open field by villagers, alleging that they practised black magic and had brought ill luck to the village.
The villagers beat up the victims with sticks and other sharp weapons and also attempted to tonsure the heads of the women.
However, a section of alert villagers intervened and rescued the victims and informed the police before the situation further escalated last night.
The six victims were admitted at the Dibrugarh Medical College and Hospital, where they are undergoing treatment.
Meanwhile, in another witch hunting-related incident in Majuli island on Wednesday, villagers of a remote area prevented a family from returning to the village as the family was ostracised and chased away from the area more than a year ago on allegations of practising black magic.
A team of police, media persons and NGO members had escorted the family back to the village on Wednesday but were met with stiff resistance from the villagers.
The entire team, along with the family that was being rehabilitated, had to flee the area. (UNI)
