5 women accused of being witches beaten to death in India

PATNA, India - Associated Press

Indian police talk to villagers after five women were killed as they accused of practicing witchcraft in Kanjia village in eastern Jharkhand state on August 8, 2015. AFP PHOTO

Dozens of villagers in eastern India beat to death five women Saturday, accusing them of practicing witchcraft and blaming them for a series of misfortunes in the village, police said.
                   
Residents of Kinjia village in Jharkhand state dragged the women out of their homes and beat them with sticks and iron rods, said Arun Kumar Singh, a deputy inspector-general of police in Ranchi, Jharkhand’s capital.
                   
The attackers blamed the women for several accidents and misfortunes suffered by villagers, including the death of an infant in Kinjia earlier in the week, Singh said.
                   
Police have arrested around 50 people involved in the attack, Singh said. A large number of police officers have been deployed in the village to prevent any outbreak of violence.
                   
No other details were immediately available.
                   
Superstitious beliefs persist in many parts of India and have been behind similar attacks on women in Jharkhand.
                   
Kinjia is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Ranchi.