TURA: The long-prevalent and widespread issue of rumour-mongering and belief in unsubstantiated claims pertaining to sorcery and witchcraft doesn’t seem to go away from the Garo Hills region.
Barely after a week has passed wherein an elderly man was found murdered next to a stream over suspicion of practising sorcery in a West Garo Hills village, another villager has now managed to escape death from a mob that attacked him in remote Rongara region of South Garo Hills a few days ago. The victim, Krenting D Sangma, of Taidang Nachichiring village, in extreme Rongara region of the southern district, had to rush to police seeking help, after he escaped an attack from a group of villagers, who accused him of practising witchcraft.
The villagers accused him of being the cause of a series of recent untoward happenings in the village including several people falling ill.
Blaming him, a mob of almost a dozen villagers tried chasing him over the allegations, threatening to kill him.
The victim managed to flee the scene, and arrived at Rongara police station to lodge a complaint.
Police then visited the village to probe the matter.