Seven members of two Dalit families were thrashed by locals of a village in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district on suspicion of practising "black magic" on Saturday, 21 August.
The incident took place in Wani village under Jiwati tehsil over the weekend. So far, 13 people have been arrested under the Anti‑Superstition and Black Magic Act.
Five of the seven Dalit members were seriously injured and had to be hospitalised. The incident was recorded on video, where it can be seen that the families were assaulted by dozens of villagers.
What Instigated the Villagers?
During Moharram, the villagers claim, three women in the village had ‘devi’ in them, for which they blame the Dalit members of two families, saying they practiced ‘black magic’ on the women.
Later, the two families were called to the village square, where they were then brutally beaten. The injured included Shantabai Kamble (53), Shivraj Kamble (74), Sahebrav Huke (48), Dhamsheela Huke (38), Panchphula Huke (55), Prayagbai Huke (64), and Eknath Huke (70).
Additional SP of Chandrapur Atul Kulkarni informed on Saturday night that the crowd tied three of the family members, including two women, to wooden poles, punched them and thrashed them with sticks, news agency PTI reported.
The police reached the spot of the incident at night and rescued the Dalit members who were made hostage by the villagers. The victims were moved to Chandrapur Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for treatment.
On Sunday, policemen were deployed in the village to maintain law and order.
Meanwhile, Chandrapur MP Suresh alias Balu Dhanorkar visited GMCH to enquire about the victims’ well-being on Monday.
Condemning the incident, the Congress leader said Maharashtra is a progressive state and appealed to people not to fall prey to superstitions.
(With inputs from PTI)
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