Elderly man’s body found hanging

Malda: An elderly man, Jaydev Barman (60), was allegedly killed over superstitions by his fellow villagers at Barmanpara of Bhagabanpur under Chanchal Police Station. Before the incident, it is alleged that the deceased was held responsible for the illness of a teenage girl in the village and was accused of practising black magic in an arbitration meeting. The body was found hanging from a tree behind the deceased’s house on Thursday morning.

The family filed a complaint with the police against 10 villagers and the police have started an investigation.

Barman was targeted after the girl developed fever on March 26 and the villagers along with the family members of the girl allegedly made him consume faeces and urine during an arbitration meeting.

One of his relatives was also severely beaten up. On Wednesday night, some people took Barman from his house and he did not return home at night. Barman’s wife and three daughters are in sheer panic now as one of the daughters will be married off soon. His family members said that they are all well-educated and have nothing to do with any such black magic. BJP claimed it to be the biggest proof of the lack of education in the state whereas Trinamool Congress said that such reforms are mostly seen in BJP-ruled states. “The state government is trying to make the society aware through education. At that time, BJP mixed politics with religion and indulged in superstitions.We want an impartial investigation into the incident,” said Subhamay Basu, district vice-president of TMC.