Overview

• A 35-year-old man returned to Malasapadar village Saturday night to collect his cattle and goats when he was abducted by villagers.
• Locals accused him of causing a woman’s unexplained death two weeks earlier through alleged black magic, driving his family to seek refuge in Ganjam district.
• Sub-divisional Police Officer Suresh Chandra Tripathy said the victim was strangled, mutilated and his body dumped in Harabhangi Dam.
• Police recovered the body Sunday morning and sent it for forensic post-mortem under the jurisdiction of Mohana Police Station.
• A formal homicide inquiry has been launched in G Udayagiri subdivision as activists call for stricter enforcement of anti–witch-hunt laws.