45-Year-Old Woman Murdered Over Witchcraft Allegations in Gujarat | Rajkot News

PALANPUR: A 45-year-old woman, who had been branded a witch and mentally tortured for several months, was shot dead by a relative of her husband in a village near Bhiloda town in Aravalli district, in north Gujarat. The incident occurred in Rampari village near Bhiloda at around 2.30 am on Tuesday.
In his complaint lodged with the Bhiloda police station, the victim, Urmila Tabiyar‘s husband, Dilip Tabiyar, named his relative, Rajesh alias Rajendra Tabiyar, as the accused.According to Dilip, Rajesh and his wife, Kamla, were their neighbors, and they had been harassing Urmila for months, claiming she was a witch who “deserved to be killed.”
Dilip, who lives in Ahmedabad and works as a bus driver for a private school in the Bodakdev area, had visited his family on Sept 27 and returned to Ahmedabad on Sept 30.
On Tuesday, he received a call from a friend asking him to rush to a hospital in in Bhiloda, as a “serious incident” had taken place.
When he arrived at the hospital, he found his sons and relatives gathered there, with Urmila lying dead on the bed. Amit told his father that around 2:30am, while the family was asleep, a loud explosion woke him up. He saw Rajesh standing in their home with a gun aimed at his mother. Rajesh pulled the trigger, shooting Urmila in the thigh before fleeing the scene.
Amit called for help, and neighbours and relatives took her to the hospital where doctors declared her dead on admission.
Dilip stated in his complaint that Rajesh and Kamla had been accusing Urmila of witchcraft. Urmila had even submitted an application for complaint at the Bhiloda police station regarding the harassment. Rajesh had also filed an application against her.