Women accused of witchcraft beaten by a mob of Indian villagers

WARNING: Graphic content

A group of women in India were accused of being witches, tied to a tree and beaten along with their husbands by villagers. The five women were filmed while being beaten for allegedly practicing witchcraft.

According to the Daily Mail, the victims were unable to stop the cruel beating because they were bound to a tree in Madhupur village in the Badasahi block of Mayurbhanj district, Odisha. They were tied with their backs to the tree trunk as a large group circles them.

Video of the incident shows the women are calm as the crowd begins to yell. Soon, however, chaos breaks out as a woman from the mob begins hitting them with branches and another lunges towards them and begins hitting them.

The mob also reportedly turned on the women's husbands. The women's spouses were beaten as well for reportedly being associated with the suspect witchcraft.

Police were not aware of the incident until they saw the footage of the brutal beatings, the Daily Mail reported. The victims lodged a complaint with the local force, prompting an investigation.

There have been several other incidents of mob justice in India, the Daily Mail noted. In October, three people suspected of kidnapping in Gangraj village were beaten. Meanwhile, a mentally ill woman was reportedly beaten to death for allegedly attempting to kidnap a child in Domuhani village, Bangiriposhi.