Patna: Police have arrested two people in connection with the murder of a woman in Bihar’s Behta police station area, an incident that has once again drawn attention to violence linked to superstition and witchcraft accusations in rural India.
The victim, identified as Juhi Devi, was killed on Wednesday in Bajitpur village, Patna district. Her family alleged that she was attacked after being branded a “witch” following the death of a six-month-old child in the family. According to police, the assault left Juhi Devi dead and injured four to five others, who are currently undergoing treatment.
Patna West City superintendent of police Bhanu Pratap Singh said two suspects, Pintu Ram and Anita Devi, both residents of Bajitpur village, had been arrested. “An FIR was registered against 12 named accused based on the complaint filed by the victim’s mother. Two of them have been taken into custody and further raids are under way to arrest the remaining suspects,” he said.
Juhi Devi had reportedly come to her maternal home with her husband and children to celebrate Makar Sankranti when the incident occurred. Tensions escalated after the death of the infant, and family members accused her of practising witchcraft, leading to a violent attack.
While the family has maintained that the killing was driven by superstition, police said preliminary investigations suggested underlying personal rivalries may also have played a role. “We are treating such cases of blind faith and superstition with seriousness and urge people not to take the law into their own hands,” Singh said.
In a related development highlighting broader law-and-order concerns, police also arrested a young man for allegedly displaying weapons on social media. The accused, identified as Sumit Kumar from Anandpur village, was taken into custody after photographs and videos of him brandishing a firearm went viral online.
During the arrest, police recovered a country-made pistol and two live cartridges from his possession. He is currently being interrogated to determine the source of the weapon and whether he has links to any criminal networks.
The twin cases have sent shockwaves through the region, with residents expressing concern over the persistence of superstition-driven violence and the growing trend of glorifying weapons on digital platforms.
