Mumbai, August 24, 2021 (PPI-OT):Seven members of two dalit families were tied to wooden poles of a shed and beaten mercilessly by a mob in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. They were attacked for allegedly practising black magic, and the thrashing continued for hours.

Seven people, including Eknath Huke (75), Sahebrao Huke (45), Prayagbai Huke (65), Shantabai Kamble (65), Shivraj Kamble (70), Dhammashila Huke (38) and Panchfula Huke (55), were injured in the mob assault. Five seriously injured elderly victims have been admitted at Chandrapur GMCH, while Dhammashila and Panchfula Huke were discharged after primary treatment at rural hospital in Jiwti the same day.

The incident took place in village Wani under Jiwti tehsil over the weekend and 13 persons have been arrested so far, they said. Atul Kulkarni, Additional SP of Chandrapur, said on Saturday night, seven members of two families were summoned to the village square by local residents who accused them of practising “black magic and possessing spirits”.

As the seven Dalit community members, some of them senior citizens, reached the village chowk, people started throwing mud on them, he said. Later, the crowd tied three of them, including two women, to wooden poles and thrashed them with sticks and also punched them, the police officer said.

The villagers then turned to four other members of the families and assaulted them too, he said. Some villagers kicked the women victims and also punched on their faces, Kulkarni said.

Bitterness had been brewing against the Kamble and Huke families since some time. The matter took a turn for the worse when four woman allegedly possessed by spirits (Bhanamati) named the two families on Friday. “The villagers held a meeting on Friday night and hatched a plan against us. A group marched to our house on Saturday morning, asking us to reach the village main square, as we were named for practising back magic by persons possessed by spirits. We agreed to go as we are innocent,” said victim Prayagbai Huke.

She said four women allegedly possessed by spirits were making a scene at the square. They were raving and babbling nonsense, and struck some of the Kambles and Hukes with sticks or threw handful of soil. This, people said, showed the spirits have nailed these people and mob hysteria took over. The Huke and Kamble family members were then thrashed.

Later, people tied Shivraj Kamble, his wife Shantabai Kamble and Prayagbai Huke to the poles and again thrashed the black and blue. Eknath Huke was beaten so mercilessly that his right hand was fractured. The village Wani (Khurd) has no phone coverage. A youth ran from the village to coverage area and informed the police. They reached hours later to rescue the victims.

Videos recorded by some villages and in possession of some Indian news channels show the women possessed by spirits nailing the victims by throwing soil on their faces, and the mob dragging them and beating them mercilessly with kicks and punches. Shivraj Kamble and Prayagbai Huke claimed they are afraid of their lives if they go back to their village.

“Villagers are keen to drive us away and might kill us. We demand police protection for our families,” Prayagbai said. Inspector Santosh Ambike said police have arrested 13 persons in connection with the incident and charged them under an anti-superstition act.

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