A 40-year-old mother of two was burned alive in central Nepal after she was accused of being a witch

Dhegani Mahato was attacked and set on fire by family members and others after a shaman accused her of casting a spell to make one of her relatives sick, Police Officer Hira Mani Baral said. The attack occurred in Bagauda in Chitwan district, about 50 miles southwest of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, Baral said. Police arrested 10 people, including two shamans, five women and an 8-year-old boy, in connection with the burning. Mahato had just finished cleaning a cowshed early in the morning when she was attacked, Baral said. She was beaten with sticks and rocks before being doused with kerosene and set afire, an attack witnessed by her 9-year-old daughter, according to the local police report. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai appealed to the people not to listen to shamans and faith healers. The government announced 1 million Nepalese rupees (about $14,000) in compensation for Mahato's two children.