GAYA JI, Sept. 25 -- Police on Wednesday apprehended three women occult practitioners from Jharkhand after a 65-year-old woman was branded a 'witch' and assaulted at a hamlet in Banke Bazar area in Gaya, police said. The incident occurred after villagers attempted to force the woman to confess to causing deaths and ailments in the community through occult rituals. The woman was later rescued when local police intervened. The incident stems from a month-long period of tension in Kundil village, a settlement of the Bhuiya Scheduled Caste community located 60km from Gaya, police said. Following a series of unexplained deaths and illnesses, villagers began spreading rumors that witchcraft was the cause. Villagers reportedly raised a fund of Rs.50,000 to hire professional sorcerers from Pathalgada in Jharkhand's Chatra district to "exorcise" the woman they had singled out. The women promised the community that their rituals would force the "witch" to appear, dance, and confess to being responsible for the recent misfortunes, thereby stripping her of her powers. On Wednesday morning, as the Tantrik rituals began near a local Devi Temple, a large crowd gathered to watch. The situation escalated when members of the crowd dragged the 65-year-old woman out and assaulted her. Her daughter-in-law was also mistreated while attempting to intervene. Alerted by locals, Banke Bazar SHO Pawan Kumar and circle officer (CO) Suraj Kumar arrived with a police force, stopped the rituals, and rescued the two women. "It was a terrible sight, with hundreds of men looking at this helpless woman who was being mistreated and forced to confess that she is involved in witchcraft. We saved her as soon as we were alerted by the locals ," said a senior officer. Police have registered a case against 15 named individuals and 20 unidentified persons under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Witch Practices Act and sections 126(2), 115(2), 303(2), 351(2), 352, and 74 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The three women and two male associates were detained and subsequently released on personal responsibility bonds after providing written undertakings not to repeat the act. The incident is part of a recurring pattern in Bihar where women, especially widows and the elderly, are branded as witches by their families or villagers for reasons related to the intention of usurping the widow's property after death or for ostracism when there is any dispute with a family. Researcher Rakesh Kumar Tiwary, who has worked in tribal areas, noted that superstitious practices and old traditional norms are key reasons why these beliefs persist. "The superstitious practices and old traditional norms in tribal communities is a key reason why stories of 'witchcraft' gain currency and villagers turn to occult practitioners to free the person branded as 'witches' from 'negative spirits'," he said. He further explained: "There is too much illiteracy and poverty in the SC communities especially in Gayaji, Nawada and Aurangabad district, a reason why witchcraft theories get currency among villagers once anything bad happens."...