How death of a Bihar boy sparked superstitions and 5 murders, but kin allege land dispute

Hindustan Times

09-07-2025

Sonu Oraon was dozing off after dinner around 10pm on Sunday when a cacophony of sharp voices outside the hut shook him awake. A fellow villager, Ramdev Oraon, had dragged his sick nephew Sunil Oraon, and laid him on the courtyard outside. 'You're a witch. You ate my son Sumit; now will you eat my nephew too? I'm giving you half an hour to fix him, or else I'll burn you alive,' Ramdev shouted – his ire directed at Sonu's grandmother, Kanto Devi. The government has now ordered a high-level inquiry under the divisional commissioner and the director general of police.(HT File Photo)
Almost everyone in their village of Tetgama – 15 km from district headquarters Purnia and 340 km north-east of Patna – knew that Ramdev's eight-year-old son Sumit had died roughly two weeks earlier. But Sonu hoped that the threats were just empty jibes from a bellicose man.
They were not. Half an hour later, Ramdev allegedly returned with a large group of armed men and women – the first information report names 23 people and adds that another 150-200 people were present – who proceeded to allegedly drag Babu Lal, 50, his mother Kanto Devi, 70, wife Sita Devi, 45, son Manjit Kumar, 25 and daughter-in-law-Rania Devi, 22, out of the house and burn them to death.
'They carried rods, sticks and weapons, and tied my father, mother, brother, sister-in-law and grandmother with ropes. They proceeded to thrash them without mercy till they were half dead. They also beat me but I somehow escaped when they were sprinkling oil on the bodies,' Sonu later told the police in the FIR.
'I saw the villagers thrash my family members and burn them alive. After burning them, they took the bodies away in a tractor trolley and dumped them in an unknown area,' the FIR added. By 4am on Monday, it was all over.
The gruesome crime has shaken Bihar and brought back dark memories of witchcraft-related murders that dominated headlines in the 1990s and 2000s.
Police have booked the 23 people – which includes Ramdev Oraon, Nakul Oraon, Anil, Sant Lal and others – and the unknown others under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including murder, rioting, unlawful assembly, and under the Prevention of Witchcraft Act. 'Prima facie, the horrific incident was committed in the superstition triggered after the death of a boy in the family of Ramdev Oraon near victims' house,' said the police in a statement.
The government has now ordered a high-level inquiry under the divisional commissioner and the director general of police. Police have arrested Chhotu Oraon, Nakul Oraon and Mohammad Sanaul – Sonu named the first two in his statement – and seized the tractor. Sonu and his brother Lalit are in police protection.
But questions are being raised how neither the police station – barely 4km away – nor the local administration got a whiff of the crime. 'Everything happened and the panchayat administration remained totally unaware about it,' said divisional commissioner (Purnia) Rajesh Kumar, and called for steps against local officials.
Since the crime, the village of migrant labourers and daily wagers –largely hailing from the Oraon tribal community – has emptied out. Many men have fled the villages and the women who remain behind say they knew nothing of the crime that has implicated almost every household in the vicinity.
'They locked us in a room, and snatched our mobile phones and we continued to hear their excruciating cries helplessly,' said Jitendra Oraon, the youngest brother of the deceased Babu Lal Oraon.
He said the murder was planned and lasted for six hours. 'The villagers remained just onlookers and did nothing to protect us.'
Relatives of the victim hint that the reason for the murders was not the suspicion of witchcraft, but something more mundane. 'They were killed for some other reason,' said Kamni Devi, sister in law of Babu Lal Oraon. Another relative, Nero Devi, echoed her. 'The truth will come out one day,' she said.
Jitendra is more forthcoming, alleging that the murder was part of a plot to capture the family's land holdings. Arjun Oraon, Babu Lal's brother, backed him. 'Nakul Oraon, the prime accused, is a land broker and the tractor which was used to dispose of the burnt bodies three km away belongs to his friend Mohammad Sanaul,' he said.
Babu Lal Oraon had four brothers – Jagdish Oraon, Khub Lal Oraon, Arjun Oraon and Jitendra Oraon. Together, they own over five bighas of agricultural land, in addition to their homestead land, on which they have both pucca and thatched houses. The village is well connected with a metalled road to the Purnia-Katihar National Highway. Local residents told HT that land sharks are growing in the area with more projects connected to the national highway.
'The perpetrators chose a day when the police and administration were engaged in managing Muharram processions. They committed the crime without any fear,' said villager Doma Oraon, adding that land brokers were gaining political and financial muscle in the area.
Police acknowledged that land grab was a possible motive for the gory crime.
'Police have formed a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the incident from all possible angles including land grabbing; and an FIR has been lodged at Muffasil police station,' said superintendent of police Sweety Sahrawat in a statement. 'So far three accused, including the prime accused, have been arrested and further raids are being carried out to arrest the remaining accused.'