Man, 61, Hacked To Death Over Witchcraft Suspicion In Jharkhand Village

A 61-year-old man was allegedly hacked to death with a sharp-edged weapon in Jharkhand's Palamu district on Wednesday morning over suspicions that he was practising witchcraft, police said.

The incident took place in Mangaradeeh village under the Shahpur panchayat of Naudiha Bazar block in Palamu district. The deceased has been identified as Sitaram, a resident of the village.

According to preliminary information, 30-year-old Vivek Kumar, also a resident of the village, had been ill for nearly 10 days and was undergoing treatment. His family suspected that Sitaram had performed witchcraft or used occult practices against him.

The suspicion reportedly led to tension between the two families. Police said that Sitaram was attacked with a sharp-edged weapon during an argument related to the dispute on Wednesday morning. He sustained serious injuries and died.

After receiving information about the incident, police reached the village and began an investigation. Chhatarpur Sub-Divisional Police Officer Prashant Kumar also visited the spot, inspected the scene and gathered details from the police personnel involved in the initial inquiry.

The police took custody of the body and sent it to a hospital for postmortem examination after completing the required legal formalities.

Investigators are questioning the deceased's family members, neighbours and other people linked to the incident. Police have not yet established who carried out the killing or determined the exact number of people involved.

"We are investigating the role of every person connected with the incident. Whether any member of Vivek Kumar's family was involved will become clear only after the inquiry is completed," SDPO Prashant Kumar said.

Police are examining all possible angles and working to identify the suspects. Further action will be taken based on the evidence gathered during the investigation.

Meanwhile, in another stabbing case in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur, a man identified as Shekhar Tirkey was killed and three others were injured in a knife attack following a dispute over a vegetable roll order at a fast-food stall in Adityapur.

The incident took place around 1 a.m. at Khau Gali, located in front of the AIDA Gate. Police have detained three youths, including the stall operator, in connection with the incident.

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