A court in Assam’s Kamrup district has sentenced six persons to life imprisonment for killing an 80-year-old woman on suspicion of practising witchcraft waay back in 1995.
Rangia Additional Sessions and District Judge Mukul Chetia sentenced all six to life imprisonment under Section 302 of the IPC for murder and an additional five years for destroying evidence, they said.
The woman, identified as Maria Boro, was beaten and set ablaze before her half-burnt body was buried near her house at Bordangerikuchi village under Baihata Chariali police station in 1995.
The prosecution said that the crime was motivated by superstition and suspicion of witchcraft.
The convicts have been identified as Soneswar Boro, Jungle Boro, Suraj Boro, Kandura Boro, Hareshwar Boro and Dhanla Boro, all residents of the area.
Apart from Section 302, the court convicted them under Sections 147, 148, 149, 448 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code.
The verdict brings an end to a long-pending case and highlights the continuing dangers of superstition and witch-hunting.
