Woman beaten by ‘witch doctor’ in Karimnagar dies

HYDERABAD: A woman, who was hospitalised after she was thrashed by a man claiming himself to be a witch doctor to rid her of ‘evil spirits’, succumbed to her injuries in the late hours of Monday.
Police said both the accused would be interrogated. Rajitha of Jaipur mandal, who has a four-month-old baby, died in a private hospital in Karimnagar and a post-mortem was conducted on Tuesday.“The post-mortem will reveal the cause of the death. We have already registered cases against those involved in the incident,” a police officer told TOI.
Asked if a murder case would be booked since the woman had died, police said they are waiting for post-mortem report. Karimnagar police, who arrested the duo, handed them over to Mancherial cops on August 1. Cases have been registered against Rajitha’s in-laws also under sections 304-A (death by negligence), section 498-A (dowry) and section 420 (cheating) of the IPC. Rajitha’s parents, who lived in Gaddapaka village of Shankarampet mandal in Karimnagar, had passed away and the woman, who was married to Mallesh one-and-a-half years ago, was residing with her in-laws in Jaipur.
After she delivered a baby four months ago, Rajitha was not keeping good health. The family believed she was possessed by evil spirits. Ravinder called Shyam from Shayampet in Karimnagar to treat her. Shyam slapped her, pulled her by her hair and physically pushed her on the cot to rid her of the evil spirits. As he beat up the frail looking Rajitha as part of his miracle cure, other family members looked on helplessly. When her condition deteriorated, Rajitha’s relatives took her to a Karimnagar hospital.
They lodged a complaint with Jaipur police, alleging that she had died because of the lashes she suffered at the hands of Shyam.
When her condition deteriorated, Rajitha’s relatives took her to a Karimnagar hospital. They lodged a complaint alleging that she died because of the lashes she suffered at the hands of Shyam.