North Dinajpur: Four youths arrested for assaulting woman occultist in Raiganj
Raiganj: In a shocking incident, four youths from Sherpur village in Raiganj of North Dinajpur district have been arrested for assaulting a local woman occultist and forcing her to eat human excreta. The accused have been identified as Kashinath Barman, Bharat Barman, Binod Barman and Balichand Barman. They were produced in the court on Sunday from where they were sent for 14 days police custody. Tension gripped the village
after this incident.
The incident unfolded after a sudden illness affected 15 women in Sherpur village. Suspecting the occult practices of Mini Barman, a local woman known for practicing tantra, the villagers sought the advice of another occultist from Chainagar under Hemtabad Police Station jurisdiction. Following this consultation, the villagers allegedly decided that forcing Mini Barman to consume human excreta would cure their ailments.
On Saturday evening, a village meeting was allegedly held where Mini Barman was beaten and compelled to eat human excreta.
After the assault, Mini Barman’s condition deteriorated significantly, prompting her son to rush her to Raiganj Medical College & Hospital for urgent treatment. Subsequently, an FIR was filed against the four accused and the police arrested them. Diptesh Ghosh, Public Prosecutor at the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Raiganj, confirmed: “The four accused were produced before the court on Sunday and have been sent to police custody for 14 days.”
Brojeshwar Barman, son of the victim, expressed his anguish: “My mother worships Goddess Manasha at our temple. Recently, some women in the village fell ill and a section of villagers accused my mother of causing this. They attacked us and forced my mother to consume human excreta. She is seriously ill and undergoing treatment. We fear returning home and have lodged a FIR against the attackers.”
Aniruddhah Sinha, Secretary of Raiganj Bigyan Mancha, condemned the act: “The villagers’ health problems are unrelated to occult practices. No one should be harmed based on superstitions.
We are planning to organise awareness programmes in the village to eradicate such baseless beliefs.”
A senior officer from Raiganj Police Station stated that an investigation is ongoing to uncover further details surrounding the assault and the motives behind it.
