Patna, July 3 (IANS) An elderly couple was killed by neighbours suspicion of practicing witchcraft in a village in Bihar on Friday, police said.

Genda Devi, 55, and her husband Lalit Yadav, 60, were shot dead in Dowarve village in Banka district, nearly 200 km from here.

"The couple was killed on the suspicion of practicing witchcraft," a police official said.

A case has been filed against two of the couple's neighbours for the killing.

The accused are missing and on the run, the official said.

The practice of branding women as witches and torturing them continues unabated in the rural areas of Bihar, according to the official.

Three years ago, the Bihar Human Rights Commission directed the state to expedite investigations and trials in cases related to offences under the Prevention of Witch Hunting Act, 1999.