Pathanamthitta: Two women and an infant girl, who had been incarcerated at the house of a woman sorcerer in Malayalappuzha, was rescued by the locals.

The three victims were identified as Shubha, wife of Aneesh John from Pathanapuram, their eight year old daughter Liya and Esther, mother of Aneesh. They were rescued by workers of the Janathipathya Mahila Association and DYFI, who had entered into the house by breaking open its front door.

The woman sorcerer, identified as 52-year old Shobhana of Vasanthi Amma Madom, however, is absconding.

The woman sorcerer and her friend Unnikrishnan landed in police custody in October last year during a state-wide drive against black magicians in the wake of the Elanthur human sacrifice case. After being released on bail, the duo was learned to have helped Aneesh John, who had also been in the jail on another case, to come out.

Aneesh and his family, who are homeless, shifted to the woman sorcerer’s residence near Malayalappuzha here a month ago. Shobhana later asked Aneesh to return the money that she had handed to him for the release and even threatened to kill Shubha and Liya in case of failing to repay the sum.

The woman is also accused of forcing the family, which had no belief in sorcery, to take part in various black magic rituals and assaulting them physically and mentally.

Aneesh, however, fled the home about a week ago and following this, Shobhana incarcerated the two women and the girl in her home. She also threatened to kill the trio while performing black magic later next day.

The incident came to the attention of local residents after the trio raised an alarm on Wednesday noon when Shobhana had gone out. The locals conveyed the message to the Kudumbasree workers , who were meeting at a location nearby. Soon, a group of CDS workers who are members of the Mahila Association along with a few DYFI activists barged into the house and rescued the victims.

A police team, which rushed to the spot, shifted the trio to the Malayalappuzha station. A search is on to trace Shobhana and her aide Unnikrishnan. Aneesh John, meanwhile, also remained untraceable for the time being.