Assam couple dubbed sorcerers and killed

An elderly couple was burnt alive by residents of a village in Assam after a kangaroo court charged them with practising witchcraft in Assam, police said on Monday.

A police officer said locals of Rajapara village, about 80 km west of Assam's main city Guwahati, called a quack for a public meeting late Saturday to find out why so many villagers in the area had fallen ill.

"The quack after discussion with the villagers pointed a finger at Bishnu Rabha, 65, and his wife Porsi, 60, for allegedly practising witchcraft resulting in so many people in the area falling sick," senior police officer Anil Kumar Deka said.

The villagers then took the couple early Sunday to a nearby forest and burnt them alive.

"The couple was first mercilessly beaten by the villagers and later dragged to a forest and burnt alive," Deka said.

Two sons and a daughter of the couple managed to escape from their house when their parents were summoned by the villagers.

Investigations are on, although no arrests have been made so far.

The couple earned a living in the area by practising traditional medicine.

"It was a clear case of witch hunting and investigations are on. We shall take very harsh steps according to law," the officer said.

Hounding of alleged witches continues in rural Assam and other states of the northeast.

According to police records, some 250 people were killed in Assam by mobs in the past five years after they were accused of practising witchcraft.