After the rape, international public opinion was shocked by the brutal murders in the "witch hunts" in India.

Police interrogate villagers after brutal massacre - AFP photo

According to AFP, last weekend five women living in a small village in the eastern state of Jharkhand were beaten to death on suspicion of being "witches".

Superstitious villagers dragged five victims from their homes and beat them to death with sticks, knives and bricks. All five were accused of using “witchcraft” to cause illness and misfortune in the village, including the death of one child.

“They broke into the house, grabbed my mother by the head, dragged her out, and beat her with sticks. One of them hit her in the head with a rock. She bled to death while I watched from my room,” the child of one of the victims said in pain.

Police have arrested 27 suspects in connection with the massacre. It is worth noting that those arrested have shown no remorse and still believe that they did the right thing.

Authorities are also hunting for a woman known as the “village duck” who spread rumors that the five victims were “witches” and incited villagers to kill them.

Superstition remains a pressing issue in rural India. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, more than 2,100 people were murdered between 2000 and 2012 on suspicion of being “witches.”

Most of the victims were women, murdered by cruel methods such as skinning, burning alive or beheading.

According to social experts, the barbaric practice of “witch hunting” with victims mainly being women is the result of patriarchal ideology, illiteracy, superstition and lack of health care in India.

(According to TTO)

\