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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Tribals branded 'witches' saved by police

MALDA, Oct 27: Acting on a tip off the English Bazaar police station today rescued three tribal people including a woman from the clutches of a group of local people at Kotwali who had hatched a plan to kill them branding them as ‘witch’.

According to police, Buli Pahari, the wife of Mr Sitesh Pahari, a resident of Paharipara of Kotwali gram panchayat under English Bazaar police station, died a year back and since then the villagers, have been trying hard to find out the reason behind the daeth.

A group of tribal people did not take the incident easily and finally a team from the village headed by Sitesh Pahari left for North Dinajpur on 25 October to consult with a soothsayer. One Bishnu Singh, alais jaanguru (soothsayer), a resident of Hatimari near Raigunj, reportedly held a family of Nagen Pahari of the village Kotwali responsible for all the evils. The villagers’ suspicion against the family further grew as another woman died of snakebite in the village a few days back.

On Sunday the irate villagers colectively mounted an attack on the residence of Nagen Pahari and Rabi Pahari and Shanti Pahari. However, the self-proclaimed leader of the village, Lalu Pahari somehow restrained them and decided to arrange a reconciliation meeting today.

Police had to encounter the villagers’ wrath as the team had arived to rescue the helples three.

“Based on the victims’ statement, police have registered a case against Saneka Pahari, Thakurdas Pahari, Mira Pahari and Sitesh Pahari. n SNS

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