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The Print
10-07-2025
- The Print
Purnea murders rock Bihar: Teen saw mob beat family to death over ‘witchcraft', lived to tell the tale
Before the family could make sense of the situation, Ramdev returned with a mob of around 200 people carrying weapons, allegedly catching hold of five members of the family, and beating them up before 'setting them on fire'. The teen saw fellow villager Ramdev Oraon, standing with his sick nephew Sunil Oraon and warning that his entire family would be burnt alive if they didn't 'treat' his nephew within half an hour. Having lost his son around 10 days back, Ramdev appeared very aggressive. New Delhi: A 17-year-old and his family in Tetgama village in Bihar's Purnea were jolted awake from their sleep Sunday night by a loud hostile warning: 'You're a witch. You ate my son Sumit, and now will you eat my nephew too?' The murders in the village, predominantly home to a tribal community, have rocked Bihar, drawing widespread condemnation from various political leaders. An FIR was filed Monday based on the complaint of the 17-year-old, who alleged that his family was assaulted by the mob and burnt. Purnea district police have so far arrested three accused of the murder and disposing of the five bodies, three kilometres away from the village. The deceased have been identified as Babu Lal Oraon (65), his wife Sita Devi (60), their son Manjeet Oraon (25), daughter-in-law Rani Devi (22), and Babu Lal's mother Kota Mosmat (75). The three arrested have been identified as Chhotu Oraon and Nakul Oraon from the same village, while the third accused, Mohammed Sanaul, hails from the neighbouring village of Kumardih. Bihar Director General of Police Vinay Kumar said Tuesday that the accused persons used a tractor to dispose of the bodies after killing them. The tractor belonged to Sanaul. However, he said that victims were not burnt alive, but after they had died. 'The post-mortem report confirms that the victims were not burned alive, as there were no signs of smoke inhalation,' the DGP said at a press conference in Patna. 'They threatened him (Babulal) with dire consequences. When he failed to cure the child, villagers belonging to the Oraon caste group turned on him in anger, and beat him up severely. After the assault, they attempted to dispose of the body by burning it and loading it onto a tractor.' Also Read: 'Came in using broken window, gagged her': How vacation in Pahalgam turned nightmare for 70-yr-old woman How the complainant 'escaped' Purnea district police rushed their team to the village Monday morning after receiving a call from Babulal's minor son, after he regained consciousness and alerted the local police station. In his complaint to the police filed Monday afternoon, he laid out the sequence of events Sunday night. He alleged that Ramdev Oraon had returned within half an hour of sounding his warning, as he had said, around 10.30 with a mob of around 200 people, which carried sticks, rods and other sharp weapons, and included women villagers. Even before the family could think how to protect themselves, the mob allegedly caught hold of five of them and tied them up with ropes. The minor further claimed that all of them were beaten up mercilessly and assaulted, while being taken towards the village pond. A woman caught hold of the complainant himself, he said, and took him to the pond, where he allegedly witnessed the grievous assault on his parents, brother, sister-in-law and grandmother. While they were allegedly trying to burn them, taking them to be half-dead, the complainant managed to escape the woman's grip. 'When they were burning them by sprinkling oil on them, I somehow freed my hand and ran away from there. I went a little far away and hid in the dark, and was watching them beat up and burn my family,' the 17-year-old alleged in the police complaint, a copy of which ThePrint has seen. The charred remains of the bodies were allegedly filled in sacks before a tractor was called to the spot, and the bodies were taken to an unknown place, he further said. Based on the complaint, Purnea police Monday booked 23 suspects named by the minor complainant, including prime accused Ramdev, his wife Soni Devi, and brother-in-law Anil, and one Nakul under Sections 190 (liability of members of an unlawful assembly), 191 (2) and (3) (rioting), 118 (1) and (2) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 126 (2)( wrongful restraint), 103 (2), (mob lynching), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention Of Witch Practices Act, 1999 that criminalise identification of a woman as a witch, and damage caused on that pretext, have also been invoked. Purnea Superintendent of Police Sweety Sehrawat said in a statement that the bodies were buried inside the pond, three kilometres away from the village, to keep them from being discovered. As the matter came to light, senior public servants and representatives rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. Purnia District Magistrate Anshul Kumar said that the bodies were tied and buried in the pond in the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. 'A postmortem has been conducted as per the established procedure, and as per the traditional way, last rites have been performed,' DM Kumar said Tuesday. He further said that the minor complainant has been provided with adequate security at an institution. 'We have arranged a ration for the family, and will ensure a compensation amount will be disbursed to the victims' family as soon as possible.' Both DGP and DM emphasised the need for awareness and education about the false claims and beliefs of 'black magic' and 'witchcraft'. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: 8 years after JNU student Najeeb Ahmed disappeared, Delhi court accepts CBI's closure report
Hindustan Times
09-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
How death of a Bihar boy sparked superstitions and 5 murders, but kin allege land dispute
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.'
