Monday, May 23, 2011

Indian villagers pierce woman's eyes, cut her tongue with scissors for alleged witchcraft


A couple was brutally assaulted by villagers in central India after they alleged that the wife as a "witch" for bringing misery to their lives, Chhattisgarh police said on Saturday.
Believed to be practicing witchcraft, the locals of Saura village attacked the house of a 45-year-old woman Shyamkunwar—a Dalit or Outcaste. The residents pierced her eyes with the aid of scissors and her tongue was cut off Friday, stated the police chief, in a report by The Times of India.
She was brutally attacked because the residents held her responsible for their health and financial woes.
When her husband Mansharam Banjare interfered, his eyes were likewise damaged by the villagers.
A local police officer told Reuters by phone, "The accused blamed the alleged witchcraft power of the lady for their problems and raided her house on Friday morning.
"First they beat her up and then a few of them held her hands and legs and then inserted scissors into both her eyes," in a report by Dawn.
The injured couple was brought to a hospital. A doctor stated that they may never be able to regain their vision again.
The police arrested ten suspects related to the attack. The case has been registered under the Witchcraft Prevention Act.
Witchcraft-related attacks involving women are not new in the remote pockets of India's central state where many are uneducated. Women accused of such practices are frequently killed and paraded naked.
Details of this report here.
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