Daltonganj: A 12-year-old boy was allegedly stabbed to death by a villager at Rabda in Palamu district on Monday, police said. The deceased was identified as Roshan Baitha.Police said Roshan, a student of the local primary school, was stabbed multiple times in the neck and stomach by the accused, Anil Baitha, 40, a co-villager, between 6 am and 7 am.Chainpur police station officer-in charge Lalji said Anil was rescued from a group of angry villagers and brought to the police station before being arrested.Quoting villagers, police said the suspected motive was Anil’s belief that Roshan’s mother practised witchcraft. “Anil’s wife had a couple of miscarriages. He started to believe that his wife’s miscarriages were the result of witchcraft practised by Roshan’s mother,” an officer said.Sources said Anil allegedly wanted to take revenge on Roshan’s mother by killing her son. Police said the murder appeared preplanned.Police are trying to recover the knife used in the killing. The bereaved family has sought time to lodge an FIR, likely after they return from the cremation ground, police said.