Witchcraft: Woman held for killing son, mother-in-law

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, May 7: A woman in Goalpara's Lakhipur killed her minor son and mother-in-law on the pretext of giving them rebirth, sending shock-waves across the State. The woman, reportedly brainwashed by a couple of local youths, has been arrested. She has been identified as Shamila Khatun of Salapara village. "She claimed that she saw a dream in which she was given extraordiry powers by the gods," social activist Dibyajoti Saikia, who visited the area today, said. "But the incident is mysterious. There could be other angles, including a conspiracy to elimite the entire family," he said.

In April last, a college student, Achintya Basumatary, was killed in a reported case of witch-hunt at Pub Maligaon in Kokrajhar district.

Two persons - one at Majuli and another at Pulibor in Jorhat - were rescued by police recently after they came under attack from alleged witch-hunters.

Expressing concern at the sudden spurt in cases of witch-hunting, Saikia urged the State government to enforce the new law to curb witch-hunting passed by the assembly recently.