Overview
- The couple, Gardi and Mira Birowa (also reported as Beruwa), were beaten and burned on December 30 in No. 1 Beloguri Munda village in the Howraghat area.
- Police registered a suo motu case under the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act and invoked Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions, including murder.
- Investigators say the 20 suspects in custody include four women, and more arrests are likely as the probe continues.
- Evidence recovered at the site includes soil mixed with blood, a wooden stick, and a plastic container with cow-dung liquid suspected to have been used to clean stains.
- Senior officials condemned the attack, cited recent life terms in a Sivasagar witch-hunting case as precedent, and said awareness efforts would be stepped up.