Woman beaten with chain to ‘free’ her of evil spirit in Rajsamand

New Delhi: A 32-year-old woman resident of a small village in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan was beaten up severely with an iron chain by a quack on the pretext of freeing her of an evil spirit.

Kasni, a resident of a hamlet near Kumbhalgarh town, over 400 km from state capital Jaipur, was said to be ill for some time. Her family approached a witch doctor, who said she was possessed by an evil spirit and required exorcism.

The witch doctor beat her for over two hours on Wednesday night with the iron chain and even dragged her by her hair. The woman fell unconscious, following which she was admitted in a local government hospital. The witch doctor ran away.

“As soon as we got information on the crime, we launched an investigation. We will take strict action against the quack,” a police official told IANS.

As per the law prevailing in Rajasthan, such crime is punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term not less than three years which may extend to seven years, or fine not less than Rs 50,000, or both.