Dubbaka, Telangana: An elderly couple in Telangana was tied to a pole outside their home and burnt alive, allegedly by relatives who accused them of practising black magic and "bringing misfortune" to them.
By the time the police reached the spot on a complaint from the couple's son, it was too late. The couple had 80 per cent burns and lived long enough only to reach the hospital. K Sudhakar, 56, and his wife Rajeshwari, 52, died soon after.
The incident took place at a village in Dubbaka 117 km from the state capital Hyderabad.
About 30 villagers had gathered around them by this time but the police said nobody helped.
The police said Sudhakar and his brother had a long-running dispute and they are probing if the brother used the black magic accusation to incite others.
Between 2000 and 2012, over 350 people have been killed in Andhra Pradesh before two states were carved out - Andhra Pradesh and Telangana - on suspicions that the victims were involved in witchcraft. During the same period, witchcraft was the motive for nearly 2,000 murders across the country.
By the time the police reached the spot on a complaint from the couple's son, it was too late. The couple had 80 per cent burns and lived long enough only to reach the hospital. K Sudhakar, 56, and his wife Rajeshwari, 52, died soon after.
The incident took place at a village in Dubbaka 117 km from the state capital Hyderabad.
About 30 villagers had gathered around them by this time but the police said nobody helped.
The police said Sudhakar and his brother had a long-running dispute and they are probing if the brother used the black magic accusation to incite others.
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Between 2000 and 2012, over 350 people have been killed in Andhra Pradesh before two states were carved out - Andhra Pradesh and Telangana - on suspicions that the victims were involved in witchcraft. During the same period, witchcraft was the motive for nearly 2,000 murders across the country.
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