The death of a 55-year-old woman, allegedly after she was beaten severely in the name of “driving away evil forces”, has left the residents of Jambarghatta near Holehonnur in Bhadravathi taluk in shock. Unable to come to terms with the unexpected turn of events, the villagers have blamed the woman, who claimed to be possessed by special powers, for the death.
Geetha, 55, collapsed on Sunday night, allegedly after being beaten up by Asha, 45, as part of the ritual to “drive away evil forces” near the temple of Chowdeshwari in the village. Doctors at the community health centre at Holehonnur declared her “brought dead” at 5.30 a.m. on Monday (July 7).
The police learnt about the incident only in the evening and registered a case, besides arresting three people. The arrested are Asha, who allegedly tortured the victim; her husband, Santhosh, who assisted his wife in the ghastly ritual; and Geetha’s son, Sanjay, who took his mother for the ritual.
‘God-woman’
When The Hindu visited the village on Tuesday (July 8, 2025), the family members were in tears, waiting for the arrival of the body after a post-mortem. They were shattered by Geetha’s death and the arrest of Sanjay, her son, in the case.
Geetha’s daughter Shalini said, “Asha claimed to be a god-woman. Let her come now and wake my mother up.”
Geetha, a mother of three children, lost her husband more than 10 years ago. She fended for the family by working in agricultural fields, as yield from the family-owned four guntas of land was insufficient to feed them.
Family members and relatives of Geetha, 55, who died after being physically assaulted in the guise of driving away evil forces, at Jambaraghatta near Holehonnur in Bhadravathi taluk of Shivamogga, on July 8, 2025. | Photo Credit: SATHISH G.T.
Sanjay studied up to SSLC and began working as a construction worker. Shalini is married to Avinash of Hadadi in Davangere. Sachin Kumar, the younger son, completed his education and currently works as a civil engineer in Hyderabad. He came home after learning about his mother’s tragic death.
Video recorded
“For the last few weeks, she (Geetha) had remained inactive and upset. Asha, who was also in the neighbourhood, felt that she had been possessed by evil forces, and had to go through a ritual to be relieved of them. She convinced Sanjay that his mother would be back to normal after the ritual. Sanjay agreed to it, but that proved fatal,” said Avinash, Geetha’s son-in-law.
The accused got the video of the ritual recorded so she could use it to prove her skill. Following the incident, the video clips have gone viral in Shivamogga. The clips show the accused beating the victim with a cane. Asha even refuses to give water despite Geetha repeatedly asking for it, the video shows.
According to the villagers, Asha had been claiming “godly powers”. However, elders in the village had recently held a meeting and insisted that she should not conduct any ritual, doubting her abilities. But she refused to obey them, said Jyothi, a resident of the village.
Programme to create awareness
When The Hindu contacted Shivamogga Deputy Commissioner Gurudatta Hegade, he said, “Shivamogga is a place known for progressive people and writers. Such incidents happening here is really sad. We will identify areas where there is lack of awareness and work out a programme to reach them. We will engage officials of RDPR, Women and Child Development, Social Welfare and other departments ensure such incidents do not occur in the future.”
