In the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, a mob lynched an elderly woman from the untouchable caste, beating her with sticks. This was reported on Thursday, August 3, by The Times of India.
According to law enforcement officers, 65-year-old Maan Devi got lost on her way home and wandered into an unfamiliar area. “The elderly woman was mentally unstable, and her wrinkled face and white hair probably caused panic among the local population,” police spokesman Tej Bahadur Singh quoted the publication as saying.
As the newspaper notes, the appearance of a woman in an unfamiliar area coincided with the emergence of rumors that in various cities in the north of the country, cases of allegedly mystical attacks on women have become more frequent. According to the victims, they lost consciousness as a result of a blow to the head. When they woke up, they found that their hair had been cut off.
The son of the deceased says that the attackers called his mother a witch, accusing her of "she came to cut off the braids of their women." Maan Devi died in hospital from multiple injuries.