A man and his two sons have been brutally hacked to death in the Indian state of Telangana by a group of men allegedly over suspicion of practising black magic.
The three people - Nageshwar Rao (55), and his two sons, Jagannatham Ram Babu (35) and Jagannatham Ramesh (30) - were repeatedly stabbed, and their throats were slit.
However, Rao's youngest son managed to escape.
According to local media reports, the murders took place during a local community meeting held in the village of Tarakaramanagar in the Jagtial district.
Reports allege that during the meeting a heated altercation between Rao's family and community members took place, as the family was accused of practising witchcraft and black magic.
Suddenly, a few villagers carrying knives and other sharp-edged weapons, attacked Rao's family and killed them.
The police have registered the case and arrested eight accused.
Locals killing people on suspicion of black magic is a regular event in Telangana, where more than half the population lives in villages.
The state police have launched many public awareness campaigns in the past two decades. But not much seems to have changed.
In a separate incident, on Wednesday, three men were hacked to death in the state's Jangaon District after a man and a member of his family attacked them, having suspected them of having performed black magic on his three-month-old daughter.
In November 2020, a man in Hyderabad district was burnt alive by his in-laws in Jagtial district. The 40-year-old man was blamed for the death of his wife's brother by means of black magic.