19-year-old kills aunt over black magic suspicion

Indore: A 60-year-old woman was beaten to death by her teenage nephew in Tanda area of Dhar district.

The 19-year-old, who was arrested on Tuesday, allegedly believed that his aunt practised black magic. The teenager, identified as Tinku, was held along with his associate Sohan.

The incident was reported from Dhawarda village, where body of Bhagdi Bai was found lying on a cot outside her house on Sunday evening. Initially, the death appeared suspicious, but the postmortem examination report confirmed that she had suffered fatal head injuries, following which police registered a murder case.

During the probe, investigators found that Tinku had been holding Bhagdi Bai, who was his father Bhuru’s paternal aunt, responsible for the death of his brother Rajesh in a road accident three years ago. Police said that the accused believed his aunt was a “witch” and suspected that black magic performed by her had led to the fatal accident.

According to police, tension between the two families had been simmering for nearly three years over the superstition-driven allegations. Because of the ongoing dispute, Bhagdi Bai and her husband Pooniya had shifted away from the locality.

Investigators said that Tinku and Sohan had attended a wedding function on the day of the incident and were returning home when they planned the crime. They reached Bhagdi Bai’s house and, finding her alone, attacked her with sticks, repeatedly hitting her on the head. Her husband was away at another house when the incident took place.

After the murder, the accused allegedly fled the village, leaving the body on the cot outside the house. Tanda police station in-charge Sanjay Kumar Rawat said that police later tracked down the suspects and arrested them from their maternal uncle’s house in Devipura village on Tuesday night.