Witchcraft: Woman Savagely Beaten And Killed By In-Laws

Authorities said the victim's brother-in-law, his wife and other relatives confronted the victim and demanded to know what "black magic" she used to cause the illness. A woman in India was savagely beaten and injured by her in-laws after they suspected she was a witch. Agence France-Presse » reports say the 55- year-old woman's in-laws accused her of causing her nephew's bad health. "Chili powder was put in her eyes, ears and private parts and they thrashed her severely," Narendra Khare, a district police chief, told the international news agency. Authorities said the victim's brother-in-law, his wife and other relatives confronted the victim and demanded to know what "black magic" she used to cause the illness, the agency reported. Despite claiming she had nothing to do with it they attacked the woman in front of her 28-year- old son, police said. He took his mother to a hospital where she died. Authorities have arrested 12 people in the incident. The agency reports some impoverished and tribal-dominated areas of India remain believers of witchcraft and in several cases women are targets of violence. In some instances the women are stripped naked, burnt alive or taken away from their homes and killed.