Woman suspected to be a 'witch', four children killed in India

Six men have been arrested in connection with themurder of a woman whom they suspected of practicing witchcraft andher four children in eastern India, police said Wednesday.

The bodies of the woman and the children were found in a well neartheir home in Bada Indipur village in Odisha state on Saturday,superintendent of police Umashankar Dash said. Odisha was previouslyknown as Orissa.

"The woman's husband returned home on Saturday morning and found hiswife and children missing and signs of a struggle and bloodstains inthe house. He filed a complaint and a police team and a dog squadfound the bodies in the well," Dash said.

Six men, including the village witch doctor, have been arrested afterpreliminary investigations and charged with murder and variousoffences under a prevention of witch-hunting law.Apparently the witch doctor had accused the woman of putting a curseon the daughter of the prime suspect.

"This girl had fallen ill and the witch doctor Budhram was called totreat her. When she died Budhram said the woman Mangli wasresponsible and instigated the father and the uncles of the dead girlwho have admitted to killing her," Dash said.

Superstitious beliefs, especially in poor tribal areas of eastern andcentral India, have been behind similar attacks on women. At least100 people, most of them women, are killed every year on suspicion ofpractising witchcraft, according to National Crime Records Bureaudata.