Raipur: A 55-year-old woman was beaten to death in Chhattisgarh's Bemetara district allegedly by her family members who suspected her of practising 'black magic', police said today.

Twelve persons, including five women, were arrested for killing Dukalhin Bai Patel in Banjarpur village on the night of October 25, Bemetara Superintendent of Police (in-charge) Narendra Khare said. As per the statement of the deceased's son Ashok, Dukalhin Bai's brother-in-law Nakul Patel suspected that she practised some witchcraft on a child in their family who had been suffering from an illness for a long time, Khare said.