A woman in a village in Bihar's Katihar district was forced by some people to eat human excreta and was paraded naked after being branded a witch, police said Wednesday.
Kania Devi, a middle-aged woman, was abused and beaten in Sakraili village, about 150 km from here, on suspicion of practising witchcraft after a minor boy died in the village.
"Some people forced Kania Devi to eat human excreta and paraded her naked after blaming her for the death of the child and branding her a witch," district police officer Rakesh Kumar said.
Police have arrested one man in this connection and lodged an FIR against six accused, he added.
The practice of branding women as witches and torturing them continues unabated in remote rural areas of Bihar. The state women and child development department has proposed a stringent law against this practice.
Two years ago, the Bihar Human Rights Commission (BHRC) directed the state police chief to instruct the SPs of all the districts to expedite investigation/trial of cases related to offences under the Prevention of Witch Hunting Act 1999.
