Branded witch, woman, one-year-old child killed in Jharkhand

A 32-year-old woman and her one-year-old child were allegedly set on fire at a village in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district after villagers accused her of practising witchcraft, police said on Wednesday (February 18, 2026). The two died on the spot.

The incident happened at a village in the Kumardungi police station area late on Tuesday (February 17), and four people have been arrested, they said.

The woman’s husband was also injured in the attack, but he managed to escape. He spent the night at a relative’s place and reached the police station on Wednesday morning.

In his complaint, the man alleged that he and his wife were woken up in the middle of the night by a few villagers.

When he went out of his house, he saw that around a dozen people who accused his wife of practising witchcraft. A commotion ensued in whcih the mob poured kerosene on his wife, who had their one-year-old baby in her arms, and set them on fire, according to the complaint.

“After the husband lodged the police complaint, he was admitted to the government hospital in Kumardungi. We have arrested four men named in the complaint. We are trying to identify the women who also took part in the crime, relying merely on superstition,” Jagannathpur SDPO Raphael Murmu told PTI.

A case has been registered and an investigation started, police said.