TURA, April 17 - In a gruesome incident last night, at least four persons attacked a family in their house near Chima Impel in North Garo Hills (NGH) on the suspicion of the family members practising �witchcraft.� The attack left a 68-year-old man dead, while his wife and pregnant daughter sustained serious injuries.
The incident occurred at Sari Awe village, which lies under the Dainadubi Outpost. On receiving information about the incident, the police swang into action and arrested five persons, including three brothers from a family, on assault and murder charges.
According to police sources, a family member of the attackers has been sick for some time, which led them to think that it was the doing of �black magic.�
�A family member of the attackers dreamt that the victims were the ones responsible for the protracted illness of their loved one. They got together and went to the victim�s house at night,� said the SP of North Garo Hills, Dalton Marak.
The attackers entered the house of the victim, Poding Momin (68), who lived along with his wife, Sening Sangma (65), their pregnant daughter and their younger son. While the son managed to escape the attack, the other three were severely beaten up, which subsequently led to Momin�s death. His wife and daughter are said to be in a critical condition.
�The police received information about the incident this morning and a team from Dainadubi went in search of the suspects, arresting five persons. We are trying to ascertain as to whether the fifth person was also involved in the crime,� added the SP.
The four arrested persons whose names have been revealed by the police are Peneth Marak (43), Polbit A Momin (24), Golits A Momin (18) and Rajiv A Momin (34). The last three named are brothers. They were arrested at 7 am today, added Dalton.
