By Our Correspondent

CALCUTTA: In a series of witch killings a woman named Sonamoni Kisku was the latest victim last Tuesday. She was: dragged from her hut, tied to a tree and then axed to death by her neighbors. The incident happened in a small village 155 miles Northeast of Calcutta.

According to police a suspected killer named Ganesh Soren was arrested, while his brother Megh Raj is still at large. In the past several women suspected of practicing witchery have been put to death in similar chain of murders.

Practice of witchcraft is ram pant in several parts of superstitious India. Witches practice to heal human illness and claim to posses special powers to predict future life. Ambitious devotees acting on their advice sometimes ritualistically kill human beings generally children. They also claim to caste spells on people who they don’t like.

Article extracted from this publication >>  May 12, 1989