Man killed, wife injured after music system glitch sparks ‘witchcraft’ accusation in Bihar

The police, as per a report, said that the mob forcibly shaved the couple's heads, paraded them with a garland of footwear, and smeared them with limestone paste.

A glitch in a music system turned into a harrowing ordeal for a couple in Bihar as the incident led to them being labelled as practitioners of 'witchcraft'.

According to a report by Indian Express, a 55-year-old man was murdered and his wife sustained severe injuries after a mob attacked the couple for allegedly tampering with the music system.

The police told the English daily that the mob forcibly shaved the couple's heads, paraded them with a garland of footwear and smeared them with limestone paste.

The incident took place in Bihar's Panchugarh Musahari.

“One of the suspects, Mohan Manjhi, was having a celebration at home, and the music system was glitching. The suspect accused the victims of using black magic to stop the system,” Nawada police superintendent Abhinav Dhiman said.

The police said that received a call around 8 am on Wednesday. However, when they reached the scene, the victim, Gaya Manjhi had succumbed to his injuries and his wife Samudri was badly beaten.

She is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital and is said to be stable and out of danger.

The police has said that the couple was already under suspicion from their neighbours for practicing 'witchcraft'. The malfunctioning of the music system led the mob to drag the couple out of their house and assault them.

According to the English daily, the police received another call on Wednesday morning that the crowd was planning to take the body to cremation ground. They said that the mob wanted to burn the woman alive. However, they intervened and stopped the mob.

Dhiman said that they have arrested 17 people—nine women and seven men—were arrested. “Their arrests were based on the statements provided by the victim’s wife. Further investigations are underway,” he said.