Dumka: A 23-year-old man was arrested within eight hours of the murder of a village head in Pakur district’s Amrapara area on suspicion that the victim practised black magic and sorcery, police said on Tuesday.The accused, identified as Dharma Paharia, allegedly confessed to killing Chhota Bamna Paharia (62), village head of Kuskuta, during interrogation, Pakur SP Anudeep Singh said.Chhota was found dead late on Sept 21 with deep wounds on his neck, apparently caused by a sharp-edged weapon, suspected to be an axe. A special team led by Amrapara police station officer in-charge Anup Roshan Bhengra was formed to investigate the murder.“Based on human and technical intelligence, the accused was arrested within eight hours of the incident,” Singh said.Police said Dharma later led investigators to an axe with a wooden handle and an orange towel, both suspected to bear bloodstains.Police said Dharma claimed that he believed Chhota was responsible for the deaths of his grandfather and father through black magic. He also told investigators that the village head had once, while intoxicated, boasted of using sorcery against the two men.
