A man in his eighties was ‘buried alive’ by his nephews in the Indian state of Meghalaya for 'practicing witchcraft', the Times of India reported on Monday.
Police said they have recovered the body of the victim, Morris Marngar, who had been taken away from his daughter’s home by his nephews and “confined” at his niece’s place in Nongdisong village, according to West Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Hebert G. Lyngdoh.
Lyngdoh said the octogenarian was “buried alive” on 7 October.
A senior police official said local police received a missing person’s complaint at one of the police stations in the state’s West Khasi District on 10 October.
Witch-hunting is particularly prevalent in rural parts of India. India’s National Crime Records’ Bureau (NCRB) has documented over 2,500 people across the country, mostly women, being subjected to torture and then killed on suspicion of being witches.
One-hundred and thirty four people in India were killed in 2016 for practicing black magic, according to official data.
