Area Police Office (APO) at Melamchi has arrested Man Singh Tamang and Sunita Tamang, both from Ichok VDC, for allegedly torturing Maili Tamang, 40, and Kanchhi Tamang, 27, accusing them of practicing witchcraft. Maili and Kanchhi are also from the same village.[break]
Man Singh and Sunita, along with Prakash Tamang and Suni Tamang, had allegedly dragged Maili and Kanchhi to a monastery at Sursingdanda, where they were forced-fed human excreta. Their heads were also shorn. As they were being tortured, other villagers who gathered at the monastery just looked on without doing anything.
The incident, which took place Wednesday, came to light only when Maili and Kanchhi lodged a written complaint at Melamchi APO. While police arrested Man Singh and Sunita on Saturday, Prakash and Suni have fled the village. Police say they have launched a manhunt for them.
Following the incident, some villagers tried to force Kanchhi and Maili into patching up with their tormentors. But they resisting the pressure and came all the way to Melamchi to seek legal remedy.
Inspector Sudip Pathak, in-charge at Melamchi APO, said Prakash, one of the fleeing tormentors, had been ill for the last few months. When he sought help from a local shaman, Prakash was told that he fell ill due to a ´black spell´ cast over him by one of the village women. This led Prakash to suspect every village woman he saw. Later, he zeroed in on Maili, as she would often offer him home-brewed rice beer.
"Prakash thought he became ill because he drank Maili´s home brew," said Inspector Pathak. According to him, Prakash decided to force Maili to divulge the truth at the monastery. Others helped him. As she denied any responsibility, she got beaten up. When Kanchhi stood by Maili, she was also accused of the same thing.
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