Chapur (Bengal): Residents of Chapur village in Bengal's Jangalmahal district of Purulia on October 20 brutally murdered a woman of their own family who they believed practised "witchcraft."

The victim, the only person with some formal education in her family, was reportedly dragged out of her house and killed with the use of sharp weapons in front of her daughter. The family are tribal people.

Chapur is within the Anara Gram Panchayat of the Para block of Purulia.

The deceased has been identified as Padabi Tudu( 37). Padabi's husband, Subash, is a land labourer. Subash has filed a written complaint with the Para Police Station against eight individuals, alleging that his wife was murdered by his own family members including his brothers, sister-in-law and nephew. Para police have filed a first information report and arrested six people. The arrested persons are Hitlar Tudu (Subash's elder brother), his wife Jaleswari Tudu, Suklal Tudu, Bablu Tudu (Subash's younger brother) and Rajesh Tudu (Subash's nephew) and his wife Madani. The remaining accused, Pinki Tudu (Bablu's wife) and Padma Tudu (Suklal's wife) are absconding.

Chapuri is about 265 kilometres from Kolkata and roughly 30 kilometres from the Purulia district headquarters. Around 85 Santhal tribal families live here, along with a few Muslim families. There are several who belong to the Scheduled Caste and General categories as well.

Locals said that Padabi had been bullied and subjected to mental torture by her family for close to five years.

Notably, Padabi was the only educated member of her family, having completed her Madhyamik (secondary school exams of Class 10) before her marriage. Others in the Tudu family were not formally educated. Padabi had insisted on getting her children a formal education — her 13-year-old daughter is a Class 8 student, while her five-year-old son studies in Class 1.

When The Wire visited Chapuri on October 23 dried blood was visible at the spot where the murder took place. Padabi Tudu’s two slippers were still at the scene. The police have cordoned off the area and deployed civic volunteers. Speaking to The Wire on October 23, Purulia superintendent of police Abhijit Banerjee said, "The murder was committed under the influence of superstition. On the basis of the complaint, police have arrested six persons, and search for the remaining accused is underway.” He further stated that the administration will undertake anti-superstition campaigns in the region to raise public awareness.

Local people, when questioned about the SP’s comment, stated that no anti-superstition campaigns have ever been conducted by the administration in the area previously. Several people expressed doubt on the effectiveness of such measures too, saying that this is a disturbing pattern as it comes barely a year after a similar incident in the Purulia district in which an elderly woman who belonged to a Scheduled Caste community was beaten to death on suspicion of being a witch in Bagalmari village under the Nodiha gram panchayat of the Para block.

In July this year, in Birbhum district, near the Rampurhat-Jharkhand border area of Masra Gram Panchayat, a mentally disabled Scheduled Caste woman was stripped, paraded naked, and tortured after having been branded a witch by locals.

Last year, two tribal women in the Harisha village of the Koleshwar gram panchayat in Birbhum district were murdered on suspicion of witchcraft and their bodies dumped in a pond of this village. The police recovered the bodies five days later.

Purulia shares its border with Jharkhand, where several recent killings have occurred on suspicion of witchcraft. On October 8, three members of a family – a man, his wife, and their son – were murdered in Kekrang Bartoli village of Lohardaga district. According to police reports, the killings were motivated by suspicions of witchcraft.

Just a day earlier, on October 7, a 60-year-old woman in Madgari village, under the Bhandaria Block of Garhwa district, was hacked to death with an axe over similar allegations. A comparable case was also reported from Gumla district, where a 50-year-old tribal woman was killed and buried after being branded a witch.

How the allegations began

The witchcraft allegations against Padabi began five years ago, soon after one of her brothers-in-law, Binod Tudu, died of a neurological disorder. The family began blaming Padabi but Binod’s widow Sundari Tudu said she never believed in these accusations. “My husband suffered from a shaking illness – something like Parkinson’s. I admitted him to Bankura Medical College Hospital for treatment. He improved slightly but relapsed after a few days and eventually died from the same disease. There is no such thing as a witch. When some of our family members started branding my sister-in-law Padabi as a witch, I protested – but no one listened,” said Sundari Tudu, speaking to The Wire.

Padabi’s elderly parents-in-law, Binishwar Tudu (80) and Surojmoni Tudu (70), echoed Sundari's sentiment. “We never believed in the witchcraft accusations. But our other sons and their wives wouldn’t listen. They even tortured us mentally for supporting Padabi,” the couple told this reporter.

Padabi’s husband, Subash Tudu, recounted his ordeal: “Whenever someone caught a cold, fever, or stomach pain, they would blame my wife for spreading illness through witchcraft. I protested many times and even informed the Majhibaba (headman of the Santhal community). Two meetings were held, but nothing changed. Finally, they killed her. I want the death penalty for all of them,”

The village headman, Majhi Baba Prabin Murmu, said, “I called two meetings to settle the matter. I told them it was wrong to accuse someone of witchcraft. But they did not listen and ultimately killed her.”

Padabi's 13-year-old daughter, in the presence of her father, says that her uncles and aunts dragged her mother out while her father was away at the Anara market. She said that they threatened to kill her too. The attackers had swords, cleavers and shovels with which they hit Padabi, eye witnesses said.

Sundari Tudu, the widow of late Binod and Padabi’s sister-in-law, said she too tried to intervene but was pushed to the ground. Surojmoni, the victim’s mother-in-law, was also beaten when she tried to stop the attackers.

The three eye witnesses said that Padabi tried to reason with her attackers by saying that she is not a witch and such a belief is superstition but to no avail.

In desperation, Surojmoni ran to the house of local Trinamool Congress gram panchayat member Jyotsna Mandi, pleading with her to intervene and save her daughter-in-law. But Jyotsna Mandi allegedly did not respond. “If the panchayat member had come that night, maybe my daughter-in-law wouldn’t have been murdered,” said Surojmoni.

Superstition, MGNREGS and RSS

Following the incident, on the evening of October 23, Dr. Nayon Mukherjee, district secretary of Paschimbanga Bigyan Mancha, Purulia, visited Chapuri village with other leaders. They spoke to the affected family and assured them of legal support. The Bigyan Mancha announced plans to organise awareness camps in the area to combat superstition.

Dr. Pulin Bihari Baske, the All India and West Bengal General Secretary of Adivasi Adhikar Mancha, told The Wire: “The government is not conducting awareness campaigns against superstition. At the same time, organisations like the RSS are trying to revive religious fanaticism and superstitious beliefs across the country. As a result, sections of the tribal community have once again started indulging in such heinous practices.”

He added that literacy levels among Adivasis remain low and that social movements have stagnated. “Those who hold leadership positions – like Majhibabas – often act under the influence of ruling parties. This is visible in several villages across Bengal. The oppressed do not get justice even within their own community, and many are too afraid to approach the police,” Baske said.

He also pointed out that widespread unemployment and the collapse of MGNREGS work since 2022 have deepened despair in rural Bengal. “Most people in Chapuri, including Padabi’s family and the accused, are farm labourers with no steady income. The entire village suffers from illiteracy and malnutrition. These conditions breed frustration and irrational violence. It is the government’s responsibility to address these issues urgently,” Baske said during his visit to Chapuri.

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