Elderly man killed in Gondia over witchcraft suspicion, four detained
Police in Gondia solved the murder within 24 hours, detaining two men and two minors accused of killing an elderly man they suspected of practising witchcraft.
An elderly man on his way to a night shift was killed with a sharp weapon in the Mundipar MIDC area of Gondia. The Local Crime Branch team solved the case within just 24 hours. Police investigation found the murder was linked to suspicion of witchcraft. Jitendra Kohale (45) and Kamlesh Ashok Neware (19), both residents of Towertoli, Mundipar, have been detained in the case. Two minors in conflict with law have also been detained. The action was taken on Thursday.
Vicky Ravishankar Rahangdale (31), a resident of Mundipar, had filed a complaint at Gangajhari police station. His father, Ravishankar (58), was riding a two-wheeler to Venkatesh Rice Mill in MIDC Mundipar for his night shift on Sunday. On the road near a leather factory, between around 7:45 pm and 8:15 pm, an unidentified person struck him four times on the head with a heavy weapon, killing him. A case was registered at Gangajhari police station.
The investigation found that Kamlesh, Jitendra and the two minors had conspired together to kill Ravishankar over the suspicion of witchcraft. On Sunday evening, the accused followed Ravishankar and killed him by striking his head with an axe.
A team began investigating under the supervision of Local Crime Branch police inspector Revchand Signjude. During the probe, police learnt there was talk in the village that the deceased Ravishankar practised witchcraft, and some people had accused him of it for this reason. Based on this information, police detained Kamlesh and questioned him.
During questioning, Kamlesh said he believed Ravishankar's witchcraft was responsible for two deaths in his family and the repeatedly deteriorating health of family members. The investigation also found that Ravishankar was blamed for deaths and illnesses in other families in the village as well.
