Two women branded as witches, buried alive in Assam

Sagu and Salmi used black magic to introduce insects into the well from which we drink water. Last night, we caught them and buried them alive

GUWAHATI: Two women have been buried alive in Assam on Monday night after they were branded as witches over presence of insects in a village well.

The victims Sagu Gaur, 60, and Salmi Gaur, 48, were pushed into the well by three brothers, Basu Gaur, Sanu Gaur and Kumar Sanu Gaur, and buried alive by covering it with mud and earth.

The incident took place at Naharbari in Nagaon district, 140 km north-east from Guwahati. Accused Basu and Sanu have been arrested and search is on for Kumar Sanu.

“Sagu and Salmi used black BASU GAUR, one of the men who buried the women alive

magic to introduce insects into the well from which we drink water. Last night we caught them and buried them alive,” an unrepentant Basu told local television channels.

Police said both accused have confessed to their involvement in the crime and efforts are underway to recover the bodies from the nearly 10-feet deep well.

“The accused and victims are relatives. Salmi happens to be a

cousin sister of the three brothers while Sagu was their maternal aunt,” local police officer Someshwar Kunwor told HT.

Belief in the occult for anything from failed crops, disease or death leads many in Assam’s backward areas to blame the events on someone.

Usually an ‘oja’ or ‘bej’ (local priest/witch doctor) lays the blame on a villager who is then branded a witch and excommunicated, thrown out from their homes, beaten and even killed in some extreme cases.

The malaise claimed 116 lives (more than half women) between 2006 and 2015 and injured hundreds across the state.

Assam’s legislative assembly passed a bill to prohibit witch hunting in August last year.

The bill made the offence non-bailable with provisions for arrests without a court warrant and fast-track courts.

It also stipulates up to seven years of imprisonment for anyone branding someone a witch, fines ranging from `50,000 to `5 lakhs and life imprisonment if the person branded a witch commits suicide. HTC