Nephew beats uncle to death over suspicion of witchcraft

Tura, Oct 8: In a gruesome incident, a 23-year -old-resident of the village of Dolbaoara, Ponibirth R Marak, thrashed his uncle, Jengran R Marak, over suspicion of practising witchcraft under the jurisdiction of the Purakhasia outpost on Monday evening.
The matter was reported to the police at about 7:10 pm by the headman of Rohonpara along with another resident of the same village.
The deceased also hailed from the same village.
According to reports, Ponibirth came to the house of the deceased where he accused him of practicing witchcraft before beating him with a steel water pipe leading to the death of his uncle, Jengran, on the spot.
He later fled from the scene but was later caught by the villagers of Rohonpara.
The police later seized the murder weapon from the accused before he was taken to the Purakhasia PHC for a medical examination.
During a visit to the scene, the body of the victim was found behind his house.
“During enquiry, it was learned that the accused suspected his father was suffering from illness and his uncle (the victim) was the cause,” stated the police report.
Due to failing light an inquest of the body could not be performed and the deceased was transferred to the Tura Civil Hospital for further examination.
The accused has been arrested.