Egregious ritual to end mental distress; 35-year-old married woman dies painfully in front of family

LUCKNOW: A 35-year-old woman who had undergone witchcraft to have children died under mysterious circumstances. Anuradha, a native of Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, is the victim of another blind superstition. The tragic incident took place on Sunday evening. Anuradha was suffering from mental distress over not being able to give birth to a child despite ten years of marriage. The family then took her to an occult practitioner to get results.

Practitioner Chandu assured Anuradha's family that she would have children after the witchcraft ritual. He had also asked Anuradha's family to pay Rs. 1 lakh for this. The family paid Rs. 2200 as an advance. Later, on July 6, Anuradha returned to her own home from her in-laws' house for the rituals.

The witch's wife and assistants discovered that Anuradha was under the control of supernatural powers. During the rituals, the witch and her assistants pulled Anuradha's hair, choked and suffocated her. They forced her to drink sewage water from the drain and toilet. The family were shocked by the rituals and raised concern over Anuradha’s deteriorating health. They begged to stop the rituals but the assistants did not agree.

Soon, the sorcerer and his assistants, who realized that Anuradha's condition had deteriorated, took her to a district hospital. Alas, the doctors confirmed her brought dead. The sorcerer and his assistants fled the scene after learning about the death.

The family who brought back Anuradha's body filed a complaint with the police demanding strict action. The officials registered a case and sent the body to the hospital for postmortem. The sorcerer and his assistants are still at large.