Killers Mangal Soren (left) and Raju Soren at Gamharia police station on Friday. Picture by Animesh Sengupta

A 25-year-old man decapitated his stepmother suspecting her to be a witch, buried her body and then turned up at a police station to own up to his crime.

Mangal Soren, a resident of Saldih village in Gamharia police station area of Seraikela-Kharsawan district, executed the murder with the help of a friend, Raju Soren, in the wee hours of Friday.

The youth, who suspected 40-year-old Duli Soren to be a witch, held her responsible for the death of his younger brother on June 24.

According to police, Mangal does not live with his father Chote Soren and his stepmother and instead resides in a separate house in the same village. Around 1am, he and Raju went to their residence while the duo was asleep.

“The men, armed with a sword and an axe, barged into the house. Seeing them, Chote fled. The two then attacked the woman, dragged her out to a field about half a kilometre away and beheaded her,” Seraikela-Kharsawan SP Indrajit Mahtha said.

Mangal and Raju then dug up a 3ft deep pit and buried her. Thereafter, they turned up at Gamharia police station around 6am to plead guilty. They were arrested.