A kangaroo court forced a 50-year-old man to swallow his stool, apparently to cure him of 'witchcraft '. The victim, a resident of Jatarpur village in Habibpur, now fears for his life as a police complaint has brought further hostility from the villagers. Tarini Mandal, a poor labourer, was branded a witch by a local soothsayer (jaanguru) when the latter was approached by villagers to find the cause of the mysterious deaths of two youths. One of them died recently after returning home from where he worked as a labourer. The other youth died a few months back. Some villagers thought it "unnatural" and approached the jaanguru who declared that Tarani and his family were responsible for the deaths. The villagers arranged a kangaroo court on September 19 to punish the 'witch '. Tarani was roughed up and then forced to swallow his stool to "purge him of his witchcraft". Tarini had to be hospitalized after the ordeal. His relatives lodged a complaint at Habibpur police station, accusing villagers like Bimal Mandal, Nirad Mandal, Madhab Mandal and two others. This, however, allegedly resulted in death threats to Tarini from the villagers. Naturally, Tarini kept away from his village. His family approached the men in uniform once again who arranged a peace meeting at the police station on Monday night. Although Tarini could return to his village with the help of police, he still feels insecure. "We are really scared as the entire village is against us. They have threatened to burn down our house. Police did not arrest those against whom we had complained," alleged Tarini 's brother-in-law Satya Sarkar. Their fears are not unjustified as the hostility of the villagers was apparent. Maya Mandal, a villager, found nothing wrong with the verdict. "If the jaanguru said he is a witch, what 's wrong with treating him in kangaroo court," she demanded. Inspector in charge of Habibpur police station, Dilip Talukdar, refused to comment, saying the issue was "too sensitive". SP Jayanta Pal, however, claimed he had no idea about such a complaint. Local CPM leader Sunil Burman said such superstition was not common among the Rajbangshi community. "We have to settle the matter by talking to the villagers," he said.
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