Fear has gripped residents of Ahanta West District in the Western Region over suspected ritual murders of four innocent citizens in the area.

The victims were gruesomely murdered with parts of their body removed, and their corpses badly mutilated in what looks like a ritual murder.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area, Mr. Joseph Dofoyenah, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the strange deaths had occurred within a period of three months.

He recounted an incident at Agona Nkwanta where a 12-year girl was found dead with parts of her body removed.

The DCE said, infuriated by the scenario, some residents of Agona Nkwanta, Domeabra, Ntaakrom and other villages in the district had threatened to lynch any stranger suspected of behaving strangely.

This, he said, resulted in a motor rider being lynched by residents of Ntaakrom, near Cape Three Points because they suspected that he was a ritual murderer.

Meanwhile, the District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Issah Yakubu, confirmed the recent mysterious deaths and added that his outfit had formed a security taskforce to intensify night patrols in the district.

He said the command would also embark on an intensive educational drive on radio stations and community durbars, to sensitize the people on the need to arrest and report people with suspicious character in their communities, instead of lynching them.

He said meting out instant justice to such suspected criminals would deprive the police of vital information and, therefore, urged the people to desist from that practice.

Chief Inspector Yakubu said no arrest had been made in connection with the crime and that the Command was investigating the matter with urgency.