On a trekking trip near their town Maulsari, the detective group M4— Meera, Malhar, Mirchi and Munna the dog—come across a woman running for her life from a mob of violent villagers. They find the woman badly hurt and lying unconscious in a ditch and take her to a health care centre. But who is this woman? And why was the mob after her?

The M4 begin investigating this strange case and discover an astonishing story. The woman—Mayawati—has been pronounced a witch by the villagers who believe she is the reason for their misfortune. She is hounded out of her house and farm—and, most shocking of all, she is not the only one facing a similar fate. There are multiple other women like her! The M4’s investigation takes them to many places—a ‘holy’ ashram run by a famous sorcerer, a village full of very angry men and women, and a field that is almost sold to unscrupulous land grabbers. As the children get to the bottom of this nasty business, they are plunged into the murky world of witch hunting, and find out about its relation to caste and gender violence.

The third book in the delightful M4 series, The Case of the Mysterious Witches is a thought-provoking and eye-opening window into a society marred by age-old prejudices—and also brave and enlightened people who say no to injustice.