Rajasthani Widow Force-Fed Faeces and Murdered for Being a ‘Witch’

The 40-year-old widow was tortured by her relatives on 3 August and police has registered a case against 4 people.

A 40-year-old widow in Rajasthan's Ajmer district was allegedly made to eat faeces, tortured and beaten to death by her relatives, who accused her of being a witch, the police said on Sunday.

The incident took place on 3 August in Kekri, a block around 135 km from the state capital Jaipur, they said.

Kanya Devi Raigar was branded a witch and severely tortured before being beaten to death. She was also made to eat faeces by her relatives

Rajendra Singh, Superintendent of Police (SP), Ajmer

The police registered a case on Sunday against four people – Pinky Raigar, Sonia Raigar, Mahaveer Raigar and Chandra Prakash Raigar – under relevant IPC sections, including murder, and provisions of the Rajasthan Prevention of Witch-Hunting Act, 2015.

The woman succumbed to her injuries at the spot, the police said.

Regarding claims that the relatives had pierced her eyes with a hot rod, Singh said the body was cremated by the relatives and no post-mortem could be conducted, “so it is proving difficult to ascertain these claims”.

"Thorough interrogation of the accused will reveal what transpired that day," he said, adding that three persons have been detained and will be arrested soon.

The woman's husband died about a month ago, and she was living with her son and daughter, the police said.

The police said a distant relative of the woman had lodged a complaint on 10 August.

"I had received the complaint on 10 August from a relative, but we could not file an FIR as the complainant was not a close relative of the deceased," Station House Officer (SHO) at the Kekri police station Hari Ram Kumawat said.

However, after the woman's daughter lodged a complaint, the police registered a case, he said.

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