Incident Reports

Elderly beaten after shaman calls her "possessed by witch"

2018-11-18

Bagmati, Dhading, Siddhalek

A 72 year old elderly was severely beaten and forced to eat urine and feces of cattle in Siddhalek rural municipality of Dhading.

Last Wednesday, the elderly was rushed to a shaman at around 7 PM after she started to tremble and blabber. When the shaman said the elderly was possessed by witch, the shaman as well as three locals started to beat her, according to the police. 

The elderly, who sustained multiple injuries from the beating is undergoing treatment in Kathmandu. Upon knowing about the incident, police immediately rushed to the incident site and arrested all of those involved: Khol Bahadur Magar, 62, Yam Bahadur Thapa Magar, 55, Harka Bahadur Thapa Magar, 45 and Dhan Bahadur Magar, 35. 

If convicted, the four can be sentenced to up to five years in prison and a fine of Rs. 50,000, according to DSP Shyam Kumar Mahato.

Details and Impacts
Violent / Non-violent Violent
Onesided / Twosided Onesided
Collective / Interpersonal Interpersonal
Primary Form Assault (small group)
Weapons None
Primary Cause Extra-judicial response on basis of witchcraft allegations
Actor 1 - Number of people 3
Actor 1 - Affiliations Citizen/Individuals
Actor 1 - Youth noyouth
Actor 2 - Number of people 1
Actor 2 - Affiliation (Target) Citizen/Individuals
Actor 2 - Youth noyouth
Total Injured 1
Female Injured 1
National/Online Media , Local Newspaper - Chitwan

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