A 50-year-old man is fighting between life and death in the hospital in Nuapada district of Odisha. Actually, the villagers suspected that the person practiced black magic, so they set the victim on fire. Residents of Portipada had held a meeting on Friday evening, in which they asked the victim to be present. The villagers accused the man of practicing black magic in the meeting and as punishment he was tied with ropes made of straw. After this it was set on fire.
As soon as the fire engulfed him, the victim started running from one house to another. He was screaming in pain, but no one came forward to save him. At last he jumped into a pond. The victim’s family members rescued him and admitted him to a government hospital for treatment. Due to the condition of the victim being critical, he was admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital.
The son said, the villagers had called a meeting, in which they had threatened my father of dire consequences if he practiced black magic. When he denied these allegations, they started beating my father and then set him on fire. Khariar SDPO Arup Behera said a case has been registered at Sinapalli police station. The search for the accused people is going on. He further said, most of the people ran inside their homes when the police arrived. According to the allegation, an attempt was made to burn him alive. The reasons for the attack will be known only after a complete investigation.