Witch Tied To A Tree And Beaten

An Indian woman accused of being a witch was tied to a tree and beaten by a mob. The beating was aired on Monday in India via television.

Nishant Tiwari, a police officer in northeastern India, reported that a journalist who videotaped the event called him Thursday to report the incident, which took place in the village of Dumaria.

He arrived to find the Indian woman tied to a tree. Her hair cut and her complexion rosy from being being slapped. She had no serious injuries.

"I was appalled at what I saw because people should be more socially responsible than to do this," Tiwari said.

Officers arrested six people. The group of people included the man that admitted to hiring the woman to heal his wife with her witchcraft. Ram Ayodhya, a man who could face up to seven years in prison for his part in the assault, told police he was justified in hurting the 'witch'. Ayodhya said he paid her to use magic and prayer to improve his wife's health.

When his wife's condition worsened, Ayodhya accused her of performing black magic, Tiwari said, and a crowd soon compiled and bound her to the tree.

Tiwari said he was alarmed by the fact that a journalist filmed the incident before contacting authorities.

"The media filmed the incident, then called the police - instead of the police first," Tiwari said.