Life imprisonment to 17 for murder of couple on suspicion of witchcraft in Jajpur
Jajpur: A court on Thursday sentenced seventeen people to life imprisonment in the case of murder of a couple on suspicion of witchcraft in Odisha’s Jajpur district in 2020. The court of Jajpur additional district and sessions judge, Hrishikesh Acharya, convicted and sentenced 17 people to jail for the murder of the couple in Nimapali village under the jurisdiction of Kalinganagar police station in the district. According to government lawyer Rajat Kumar Raut, the court gave its verdict after examining 20 witnesses and other evidence in the case. According to case records, some villagers had raided the house of Shaila Balamuz and Sambri Balamuz in Nimapali village of Kalinganagar area late on the night of July 7, 2020, and attacked them on suspicion of practicing witchcraft. After brutally attacking the couple, the intruders set the house on fire. In this incident, both the man and his wife burnt to death. The police had registered a case in connection with the incident and arrested 17 villagers for their involvement in the crime. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on each convict.
