Woman hacked to death on suspicion of practising witchcraft in Jharkhand, one held

A 62-year-old woman was allegedly hacked to death over suspicion of practising witchcraft in Jharkhand’s Gumla district, police said on Friday (February 27, 2026). A man was arrested on Thursday (February 26, 2026) in connection with the death, a senior officer said.

The incident took place in Baghima Ambatoli village under the Palkot Police Station limits on Wednesday (February 25, 2026), when the woman was attacked by two men.

“Mangari Devi was hacked to death around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday (February 25) when she was on her way to attend a marriage ceremony at Pandrapani, which is about 7 km from the village. The accused, along with his friend, attacked the elderly woman with an axe and killed her,” Palkot Police Station officer-in-charge Tarun Kumar said.

The two accused dumped the body in the Goja forest area, and one of them was arrested, he said. During the investigation, the arrested person admitted that he killed Devi over suspicion of practising witchcraft, the officer said. “The accused claimed that his mother and brother had fallen ill due to the black magic of the elderly woman,” the officer said. The police are conducting raids at multiple locations to arrest the other accused, who has been on the run, the OC added.