A man in eastern India was beaten to death and his wife seriously injured when a music system malfunctioned at a birthday celebration and a mob accused them of practising witchcraft.
Police said Gaya Manjhi, 55, and his wife Samudri were attacked at Panchugarh Musahari village in Bihar state’s Nawada district on Tuesday evening.
The couple were dragged from their home, assaulted, forcibly shaved, smeared with limestone paste, and paraded through the streets wearing garlands of footwear.
Nawada superintendent of police Abhinav Dhiman said violence broke out during a birthday celebration at the home of a villager named Mohan Manjhi when the music system stopped working.
“One of the suspects, Mohan Manjhi, was having a celebration at his home and the music system was glitching. The suspect accused the victims of using black magic to stop the system,” he told the Indian Express.
Police received an emergency call at 8am on Wednesday and found Gaya dead and Samudri wounded. She was taken to a district hospital and was reported to be in a stable condition.
Police sources said the couple had previously faced harassment over allegations of sorcery.
After killing him, the villagers allegedly attempted to take Gaya’s body to a cremation ground and planned to burn his wife alive, police said.
“We got information that the villagers have attacked a couple, killed the husband and were taking the wife to burn her alive. We found the man dead and the woman injured,” sub inspector Rupa Kumari at the Hisua police station told Hindustan Times.
Police arrested 17 people, including Mohan Manjhi and nine women. “Their arrests were based on the statements provided by the victim’s wife. Further investigations are underway,” Mr Dhiman confirmed.
Police described further humiliation, with villagers forcing the victims to drink urine and shaving their heads before parading them through the streets. “They were also made to wear garlands of shoes and slippers,” Ms Kumari said.
