W50 javelin champion branded as a ‘witch’ in India, flees attack
More from Indian news media:
Two persons were arrested on Thursday for allegedly branding a veteran woman athlete Debajani Bora (51) a “witch” and torturing her in a Naamghar traditional prayer house in the Serekali village of central Assam’s Karbi Anglong district. Ms. Bora is the winner of several medals including gold medals in Veteran Masters Athletics meets held in Chennai, Haryana, Punjab.
Mugdhajyoti Mahanta, Superintendent of Police, Karbi Anglong, told The Hindu that the two arrested were Radha Laskar, a priest, and his accomplice Biswa Medhi. “The Naamghoria [priest] attacked Debajani Bora and pinned her to the ground as his accomplice threw a fishing net upon her. The victim wriggled out of their clutches and reached home. She lodged an FIR on Wednesday evening, following which we arrested the two persons.”
Bora, however, managed to escape from the spot.
‘The Naamgharia told the villagers that she practises witch craft and that it is because of her that the villagers are suffering,’ Mahanta said.
The practice of witch hunting is common among some communities in Assam. Several people, mostly women, are being tortured and even killed every year in Assam in the name of witch craft.
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