A court in Assam has sentenced six men to life imprisonment for the killing of an 80-year-old woman over witchcraft suspicion in the Kamrup district in 1995.
The Rangia Additional Sessions and District Judge’s Court pronounced the sentence on Wednesday after convicting the six accused in the murder of Maria Boro. She had allegedly been accused of practising witchcraft. The six convicts are Soneswar Boro, Jungle Boro, Suraj Boro, Kandura Boro, Hareshwar Boro and Dhanla Boro. All the accused are from the same area.
The court sentenced them to life imprisonment under Sections 147, 148, 149, 302, 448 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code.
Boro was attacked in Bordangerikuchi village under Baihata Chariali police station, according to the prosecution. Her body was later burnt, the prosecution told the court.
Wednesday’s verdict brought the trial to a close more than three decades after the killing. The case is one of the instances in Assam where allegations of witchcraft have resulted in violence against elderly and vulnerable people. The case, dating back to 1995, had remained pending for years.
