Villager killed over suspicion of witchcraft; one held

Thane: A youth has been arrested for allegedly killing a 45-year-old villager in Dahanu taluka of the district on suspicion that he had been practising witchcraft, police said Wednesday.

Police had on November 1 recovered the body of Yeshwant Shanya Wadu, from Dongripada hamlet of Vaki, with multiple injuries, API A K Bhagwan of Gholwad police station said. They sent the body for postmortem and a case of accidental death was registered at that time. However, later the deceased`s son lodged a complaint with police that his parents were brutally beaten up by fellow villager - Nilesh Mohan Lolka (25) - as he suspected them of practising witchcraft. According to the complainant, the accused beat up the couple on November 1 with a hard and blunt object following which his father succumbed. Based on the complaint, police launched a man hunt for the accused and nabbed him from a hideout last night. The case has now been registered for murder, police said, adding that further investigation was on.