Mail News Service
Chaibasa, Oct 31: In a shocking incident from Baljudi village under Sonua block of West Singhbhum district, a 60-year-old woman was brutally murdered by villagers who accused her of practicing witchcraft (dayan-bisahi).
The body of the victim, identified as Jamuna Purti, was later found dumped near a culvert on the Goelkera Road.
According to sources, Jamuna Purti lived with her daughter Suryamani Kunkal and daughter-in-law Sukhmati Purti, wife of her younger son Shiv Kumar Purti.
She had been missing since last Sunday night. Despite extensive searches by her family members, her whereabouts remained unknown.
When the family informed the police about her disappearance, no immediate action was taken.
Her sons, Sanatan Purti (working in Chennai) and Shiv Kumar Purti (working in Gujarat), rushed home upon receiving the news, but their repeated pleas to the police allegedly went unanswered.
On Friday morning, villagers spotted a decomposed body near a culvert and alerted the police.
Officers arrived at the spot and confirmed it was the body of Jamuna Purti.
The body was first taken to Chakradharpur Sub-Divisional Hospital, but due to its decomposed condition, it was later sent to MGM Hospital, Jamshedpur for postmortem examination.
Preliminary investigations suggest that Jamuna Purti was killed with a sharp-edged weapon inside her home, and her body was later dumped to destroy evidence.
Police sources believe the murder took place on the very night she went missing.
Her son, Sanatan Purti, has accused several villagers of killing his mother under superstition.
He alleged that local residents often blamed his mother for misfortunes or deaths in the village. Two days before the murder, a villager named Rameshwar Purti had allegedly shouted while intoxicated that “someone will be killed, and no one will stop us,” a statement overheard by Sanatan’s sister, Suryamani.
Sanatan has demanded strict action against those responsible, stating, “If the police had acted promptly when we reported her disappearance, my mother might still be alive.”
Attempts to contact Sonua Police Station in-charge Shashi Bala Bhengra went unanswered, as her mobile phone remained switched off.
The case has sparked widespread anger and raised serious questions about police negligence and the persistence of witchcraft-related violence in rural Jharkhand.
