Monday June 25 9:07 AM ET
RANCHI, India (Reuters) - A Indian man and his wife were killed by a mob of villagers who suspected them of practicing witchcraft, police said on Monday.
Police superintendent Neeraj Sinha told Reuters the two were beaten and their throats were slit in the Lalganj area of the eastern state of Jharkhand on Sunday.
``Witch-hunting is a major problem in Jharkhand's social set-up,'' he said. ``The two were killed after the villages claimed they had been practicing black magic.''
He said the villagers had linked Budhwa Oraon, 50, and his 55-year-old wife, Baili Oraon, to the deaths of some children in the area outside the state capital, Ranchi.
Three people were detained in connection with the incident, he said.
� 1997
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