A tale of blind faith turned deadly in Ranchi’s Tamar area, where brother-in-law Sonaram Lohra’s paranoia led to his bhabhi Etwari’s execution-style murder. On February 1, gunmen shot her dead at home, then staged a chulha fire to mimic an accident. Postmortem exposed the bullet in her skull, prompting arrests of Sonaram and five accomplices.
Initial reports painted Etwari’s Taladith home death as a tragic mishap. Tamar police, however, pursued forensics at RIMS hospital. The autopsy report flipped the script, confirming homicide via gunshot before incineration.
SSP-mandated team led by SP Praveen Pushkar cracked the case wide open. Sonaram confessed during grilling: convinced Etwari’s witchcraft slew his kids, he shelled out Rs 2 lakh for her supari.
The hit squad—Soma, Lakhichand, Kalicharan, Amit Lohra, and Vishnu Mahto—struck ruthlessly, but police outmaneuvered them. Confiscated: a crude pistol, motorcycles, mobiles.
This isn’t isolated; Jharkhand’s superstition scourge demands urgent intervention. From awareness drives to stringent laws, breaking the chain of such horrors is imperative. Victims like Etwari deserve justice, not myths.