In Uttar Pradesh, exorcist tortures woman to cure infertility, kills her

A 33-year-old childless woman was allegedly tortured to death in a Shahjahanpur village by an exorcist who branded her body, including private parts, with a hot iron and beat her up with lathi to treat her infertility, police said on Monday.

Victim Sharda Devi of the Kamhara village in the district was admitted to the hospital on February 27 and died on Sunday during treatment, Puwayan Circle Officer Navneet Naik said.

Saharda was married to Sarvesh of Kamhara village but the couple did not have any child, said Naik, adding that on her husband’s insistence, she took the help of her brother-in-law Durvesh who also practised exorcism.

Durvesh convinced the family that Sharda was under the influence of a witch and needed to be beaten up to be rid of the evil spirit.

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Accordingly, Durvesh allegedly first branded various parts of the woman’s body including private parts with hot iron tongs on February 24 and as she cried in pain, he brutally beat her up with lathi, saying all the pain is being inflicted on the witch, said police.

Following the woman’s death, an FIR was lodged in Puwayan police station against five persons, including the exorcist, on the woman’s parents' complaint. Police is probing the matter and trying to arrest the accused, said Naik.