‘Black magic’ family beats senior citizen to death

A 65-year-old man was beaten to death by his neighbours after he alleged that they had performed black magic on his son to drive him insane, police said.

The incident took place on Monday night at Kokari Agar in Antop Hill.

An officer of the Antop Hill police station said they arrested Palani Swami, 50; wife Baby, 45; sons Raja 28 and Ramesh, 24; and daughters Laxmi Ganesh, 32, and Shelvi Sivalingam, 34, for allegedly killing Pirmal Swami.

“Pirmal’s son Rahul, 25, has been undergoing psychiatric treatment at a private hospital in Sion for the past month,” said senior inspector Devram Deokar.

“Pirmal was convinced that Palani’s family had performed black magic on his son. He had been fighting with the family for the past few days.”

However, around 10.30 pm on Tuesday, after another argument, Palani’s family hit Pirmal with wooden sticks. The police was informed, and the victim was rushed to Sion Hospital. He was declared dead at 3 am, said Deokar.

“The deceased’s wife, Parvati Swami, 60, lodged a complaint against her neighbours for killing her husband.”