Killings strike fear into Indian witch doctors

[icymist]

By Biswajyoti Das

UTTARKUCHI, India (Reuters) - With a traditional woven cloth covering her hair, elaborate jewelry and a red mark on her forehead signifying her married status, Dimbeswari Bhattarai looks like any other woman in this corner of isolated northeast India.

But Bhattarai, 62, is far from ordinary.

She claims to possess special powers which enable her to cure diseases, predict the future and drive away evil spirits. Bhattarai is a witch doctor, or ojha, as the tribal people of Assam state call them.

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Police say that around 300 people have been killed in the state in the past five years for allegedly practicing witchcraft. The killers are believed to be dissatisfied customers who believed the ojhas' potions or spells did not work.

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