Pakistani villagers stoned and beat a 100-year-old woman almost to death after she was accused of trying to eat a new-born baby, a report said Monday.
The woman was beaten unconscious by a mob of people armed with stones and clubs in Shahpat village of southern Sindh province in the early hours of Sunday, the Dawn English-language daily said.
She had been accused of entering a family home and trying to eat a baby. It was not known if the child was hurt.
Police said they handcuffed the woman and took her away, but the mob followed her to the cells where they continued to throw stones at her as police looked on passively, the report said.
Local people said she was retarded, although the woman, whose name was not provided, told police she was an innocent dervish, a Muslim mystic who renounces worldy things and believes in communication with god through music, dance and poetry.
