Balasore, June 10: A 27-year-old man has allegedly opened fire from a country-made weapon on a 55-year-old lady, suspecting her to be a witch.

The bullet missed his target and hit the victim’s 24-year-old daughter-in-law. The incident took place on Saturday night.

The accused, Durga Nayak of Purunapani village in the Badampahad police station area, had attacked the victim, Kuni Nayak, while she was sleeping in her house. Her daughter-in-law, Tulasi Nayak, 24, who was sleeping on the verandah suffered injuries and is admitted at a hospital.

Police arrested Durga and seized a pistol with a live cartridge, which was hidden in a nearby forest.

A superstitious Durga told the police that Kuni was bringing miseries for his family. He said he had wanted to get rid of her. He suspected that his two-year-old daughter died in 2011 because of the witchcraft done by Kuni, to avoid whom, Durga had even kept his one-year-old daughter at his parents’ place. His younger brother, too, is unwell. Durga said a person had told him that it was because of Kuni’s evil influence that they were suffering.

Durga told the police he had procured the firearm from Jharkhand about a year ago. Mohanpani Karua, sub-divisional police officer of Rairangpur, said: “The accused was produced before court on charge of attempt to murder. The pistol has been seized.”

To curb witch-hunting and other similar practices, the state passed the Odisha Prevention of Witch-Hunting Bill, 2013, with provisions of imprisonment up to three years and penalty for offenders. The bill is, however, yet to receive the governor’s assent.