Hazaribag: A 30-year-old man was arrested, and six others of his family are being traced by the police after they allegedly tortured an elderly woman after branding her a witch. On Sunday night, Parvati Devi, a resident of Jaraiya village, lodged a formal complaint with the Barhi police station.Parvati, a widow, claimed in her complaint that a group of people from the village barged into her house on the night of July 18, branded her a witch, and assaulted her. She further claimed that the group had brought in a self-proclaimed healer from Koderma who ruled that she must be ousted from the village.The healer allegedly forced Parvati to consume some herbs and pressured her to accept that she practiced black magic. After she resisted, she was allegedly thrashed by the group which then shaved her head and paraded her through the streets of the village, she told the police and claimed she was tortured for property. Barhi subdivisional police officerAjit Kumar Vimal on Monday said an FIR has been lodged and raids are underway. “We have arrested one person named as Shambhu Yadav (30) in this case. Others will be arrested very soon,” he said.
