Two brothers from Wadala, aged 25 and 15, and the elder brother’s girlfriend killed the duo’s mother suspecting her of practising black magic. They believed the black magic she practised was to stop her elder son from marrying his lover, a report in this paper stated. The accused trio was apprehended by the Wadala police. Talking to the cops, the older son claimed that he was convinced his mother was doing some black magic as a result of which he was unable to marry his girlfriend.

Looking beyond this case, though using this as a springboard, is the belief that it is usually women who are branded as doing magic, and that they are inauspicious or ‘unlucky’ and practise witchcraft.