Five women have been killed in India's eastern state of Jharkhand by a mob that accused them of practising witchcraft, police say.
Two dozen people were arrested in connection with the murders in the village, about 45 kilometres from the state capital Ranchi.
"Groups of villagers used wooden sticks and sharp-edged weapons to beat and murder the women," local police inspector Bandana Bakhla said by phone.
"They blamed the women for misfortune in the village and alleged it was their fault that many people here were falling ill."
At least 2100 people, mostly women, were murdered in India between 2000-2012 for allegedly practising witchcraft, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
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