16 get life term in Bihar for killing man on suspicion of practising witchcraft

The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge-II sentenced the 16 people and also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 each for killing Jagdish Ram.

Aurangabad, Bihar: A court in Bihar's Aurangabad district sentenced 16 people, including two women, to life imprisonment for killing a man on suspicion of practising witchcraft.

The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge-II (Aurangabad), Dhananjay Mishra, on Friday, sentenced the 16 people and also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 each for killing Jagdish Ram (65), a resident of Ibrahimpur village, on August 13, 2020.

Those convicted include Suresh Ram, Ravindra Ram, Surendra Ram, Satyendra Ram, Maharaj Ram, Uday Ram, Shatrughan Ram, Vineet Ram, Manorama Devi, Sudama Ram, Balinder Ram, Rakesh Ram, Ramdev Ram, Rajan Ram, Lalita Devi and Mukesh Ram.

The 16 people convicted belong to Ibrahimpur village.

Additional Public Prosecutor (APP), Rajaram Choudhary told reporters after the judgement that, "On Aug 13, 2020, Jagdish Ram was killed by convicts on the suspicion that he was involved in 'witchcraft'. He was attacked with sharp and blunt objects by the convicts."

"On the statement of Ram's wife, a case was registered with the Kutumba police station. In her complaint the deceased's wife gave the name of all 16 accused (now convicted) and she had alleged that her husband was killed on the suspicion of practising witchcraft," said the APP.