Branded witch, woman set on fire with one-year-old baby in arms in Jharkhand

When the woman's husband went out, he saw that around a dozen people had gathered, accusing his wife of practising witchcraft. Amid the commotion, the mob poured kerosene on his wife, who had their one-year-old baby in her arms, and set them on fire, according to the complaint.

Chaibasa: A 32-year-old woman and her baby were allegedly set on fire in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district after she was branded a witch, police said on Wednesday.

The incident happened at a village in the Kumardungi police station area late on Tuesday, and four people have been arrested, they said.

The woman's husband was also injured in the attack, but he managed to escape. He spent the night at a relative's place and reached the police station on Wednesday morning.

In his complaint, he alleged that he woke up in the middle of the night after hearing that some people were calling him and his wife.

When he went out, he saw that around a dozen people had gathered, accusing his wife of practising witchcraft. Amid the commotion, the mob poured kerosene on his wife, who had their one-year-old baby in her arms, and set them on fire, according to the complaint.

They died on the spot, police said.

"After the husband lodged the police complaint, he was admitted to the government hospital in Kumardungi. We have arrested four men named in the complaint. We are trying to identify the women who also took part in the crime, relying merely on superstition," Jagannathpur SDPO Raphael Murmu told PTI.

A relative of the husband, who lived in the same village, died on Tuesday following a prolonged illness, and they blamed his wife for it, police said.

A case has been registered, and an investigation started, they said.