The Hindu : Teeth of man, wife plucked out

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 15, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Teeth of man, wife plucked out

By Our Staff Reporter

VIJAYAWADA APRIL 14. The teeth of a man and his wife were plucked out by relatives who suspected them of doing `chethabadi' (black magic) on their teenaged daughter. Simhadri Devadas, 40, and his wife Lalitha, 35, each have lost eight teeth and are lying in the Government General Hospital where they have been admitted for treatment. Chethabadi is known as `banamathi' in Telangana and Rayalaseema areas. This type of black magic is, however, rare in Krishna district.

The couple was allegedly attacked at their house in Nehrunagar in Krishna Lanka police station limits around midnight last night, by ten persons, all relatives, led by Simhadri Venkateswara Rao and his wife, Ramana. Holding the couple down they allegedly removed the front teeth using a special kind of rod used in making bamboo articles.

Devadas belongs to the Chenchulu community which is a wandering tribe which ekes out a living making articles with bamboo. He and his relatives had settled down in Vijayawada a few years ago. Devadas took to rickshaw-pulling to make a living, but his relatives continued the bamboo work. They make baskets and ladders and put them out for sale on the Krishna Lanka national highway.

Madhavi, 15, daughter of Venkateswara Rao, has been behaving strangely and her health is also failing. When the family recently went for a wedding in Tenali the girl got hysterical and behaved as if she was possessed. In her revelations, she said that she would die by the next full moon day, April 16. The girl's parents immediately suspected the hand of Devadas and his wife Lalitha. They planned a raid on Devadas' house two days in advance and removed their teeth so that they could not do "chethabadi'' on their daughter.

The police have taken into custody Venkateswara Rao and his wife, Ramana, his younger brother, Chinnavenkateswara Rao, and his wife, Sakuntala, and three others. The assailants reportedly admitted to the police that they pulled out the teeth fearing for the girl's life. They alleged that Devadas and Lalitha were `invoking' the spirit of one Rosaiah, who died in a road accident. Rosaiah's spirit was causing their daughter to behave strangely and the girl's health was deteriorating, they felt.

Former IMA all India vice-president and a crusader against superstitions, G. Samaram, said the extracting of teeth was typical in such cases of superstitious attacks. This is done so that the persons using chethabadi cannot recite the `mantras' (spells) to harm the victims.

Dr. Samaram said chethabadi is called `banamathi' in the Telangana areas. If the community is closed, relatives and family members themselves make the allegations of black magic and lead the attacks. Sometimes, the entire village gets involved and others also participate in the violence.

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