New Delhi - Three members of a family were killed by villagers in India's eastern state of Orissa for allegedly practicing witchcraft, a newspaper reported Tuesday. Police said a villager, his wife and son were killed by two men in the tribal-dominated northern district of Keonjhar on Sunday, the Asian Age reported.
The accused chased the victims when they were working on their farmland and hacked them to death. They later surrendered to local police, claiming the three victims were suspected of practicing black magic, the report said.
Witchcraft and black magic are prevalent in the Indian hinterland, where illiterate and poor people have an abiding belief in superstitions.
In addition, many tribal and indigenous faiths are a mix of black magic and superstition, which are used to treat diseases and cast evil spells on adversaries.
