Odisha: 12 sentenced to life in prison for murdering father, son over witchcraft

A court in Odisha’s Gajapati on Thursday sentenced 12 men to life imprisonment for murdering a father and his son after a village council accused them of practising witchcraft in 2021, calling them cold-blooded and premeditated murders.

Additional Sessions Judge Hara Prasad Pattanaik said the convicts had a deliberate intention to kill the victims because they believed the victims indulged in witchcraft. “The measure of comeuppance in a case of murderous assault of this nature must depend upon the conduct of the convicts, the manner of perpetration of the crime, motive behind the crime and gravity of the criminal act,” the court said.

Luka Dalabehera and his son Anuka Dalabehera were killed in Muthaguda village of Gajapati in June 2021

On June 12, 2021, the convicts met near the residence of the main accused, Josua Gamango, and blamed Luka Dalabehera for killing fellow villagers through sorcery. A mob soon dragged Luka Dalabehera and his son to an agricultural field on their village outskirts, where they beat them to death with stones and bamboo sticks.

The prosecution examined 23 witnesses and produced documentary and material evidence before the court.

The judgment comes as the state government drafts the Odisha State Policy for Witch-Hunting (Prevention, Protection and Prosecution), 2026, aimed at strengthening prevention, ensuring immediate rescue of victims, and expediting legal proceedings in rural and tribal areas.

Under the proposed policy, the state plans to establish special courts and deploy trained prosecutors to ensure time-bound trials in witch-hunting cases.

The proposed policy envisages round-the-clock response mechanisms, systematic case tracking, and action against officials who fail to register complaints or properly investigate them.