India Arrests Gang for Brutal Murder of Mother and 10-Month-Old Infant Accused of Witchcraft

Police in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand have arrested four people for a shocking crime involving the murder of a woman named Jyoti Sinku and her 10-month-old son. The victims were burned to death on suspicion of practicing witchcraft, following rumors about sudden cattle deaths and the death of a local man named Pustun Birua. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, more than 2,500 people, mostly women, were killed in India on suspicion of witchcraft between 2000 and 2016. The husband, Kolhan Sincu, reported that a group of about 12 people, including 5 women, invaded their home and set fire to his wife and child, resulting in their deaths.