Five members of a family in Bihar were allegedly burnt to death, in what is the latest example of a 21st century witch hunt in the Purnea district. "People of the entire village were involved," explained SDPO Pankaj Kumar Sharma.
#WATCH | Bihar: Five members of a family burnt alive allegedly in the name of witchcraft/black magic in a village in Purnea; three arrested. Charred bodies recovered.
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2025
Pankaj Kumar Sharma, SDPO Sadar Purnea says, "We received information at 5 am that in a village under Mufassil… pic.twitter.com/dqgGCiBuy7
The Bihar police explained that they were trying to determine the identity of the deceased, after recovering the bodies. Three people have already been arrested in connection with the murders, while a manhunt has been launched to nab the others.
According to DIG (Purnea) Pramod Kumar Mandal, the brutal killings took place at the Tetna village on Sunday night. While some reports suggest that they were beaten and then burnt to death, DIG Mandal explained that the five deceased victims were first murdered due to the witchcraft allegations, and then burnt in a bush, as per the preliminary report, a PTI article said.
He added that the accused were suspected to belong to the same community.
According to the police, the witchcraft allegations may have stemmed from the recent death of a child in the village. “It is being said that the child of one Ramdev Oraon died three days back. It is believed that they indulged in black magic and they were killed in this connection,” SDPO Pankaj explained, as per a Times of India report.
Former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav criticised the NDA-led Bihar government, stating that the “DK Tax” was the reason that anarchy peaked in the state, with law and order collapsing under CM Nitish Kumar.
पूर्णिया में एक ही परिवार के 5 लोगों को जिंदा जलाकर मार दिया।
— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) July 7, 2025
DK Tax के कारण बिहार में अराजकता चरम पर, DGP/CS बेबस, कानून व्यवस्था ध्वस्त
परसों सिवान में 3 लोगों की नरसंहार में मौत।
विगत दिनों बक्सर में नरसंहार में 3 की मौत।
भोजपुर में नरसंहार में 3 की मौत।
अपराधी सतर्क,…
According to India TV, the only survivor of the gruesome crime was a 16-year-old teenager who managed to escape certain death, and reach his maternal grandparents' house, where he explained what had happened, after which the police were called.
The incident has understandably spread fear in the village, as dog squads and forensic experts are currently being used to investigate the evidence recovered from the spot.
