'Strong law, awareness needed to curb witchcraft’

--Sorcery killing claimed 152 lives since 2010 in Odisha

HEMANTA KUMAR PRADHAN

BHUBANESWAR: L Sebati of Matiaburei village under Patapur police station in Ganjam district was living in harmony with her three children. Her elder one is reading in a college and she was running her kitchen by doing agricultural works in her paddy field. Though, she was not educated enough, she had sent her children for higher education. But the happy moments could not last long.

The superstitious villagers hired a Gunia and conducted a ‘Magic Cot’ trick to trace out the burglar and the persons who were allegedly practising witchcraft in the village. Unfortunately, Sebati was convicted in the magic trick system. The villagers took the educated sons of the lady and tied them with an electric pole by tonsuring their heads. Even they forcefully blackened the face of the family members in the middle of the village. The villagers suspected her as a sorcerer and punished her with a fine of Rs 30,000.

After the incident, the family members went to the police station to file a case against the inhuman behaviour of the villagers. Patapur police registered a case on March 19, 2010. Eighteen people of the village were arrested in connection with the inhuman treatment with the families of Sebati. On May 31 last year, members of the Human Rights Commission came to the village. Sebati had given some information regarding the torture on her. This conversation and information sharing between the investigation team and Sebati created anger among some groups of the village.

Sevati requested the Human Rights Commission, police and some local leaders to help her out in the case, but that was in vain. She did not leave hope and started fighting alone against the inhumane superstitious villagers. Finally, the inhuman persons brutally murdered her on October 2 last year, while she was returning from the police station. An innocent mother, who was fighting against injustice, left the world with a heavy heart.

This is not the first story. This type of incident is continuing in the State still now. Persons like Sevati are tortured, lynched and killed by the superstitious villagers. 

On May 25 last year, two women were locked up by the villagers of Sangrampur village in Nilagiri of Baleswar district suspecting witchcraft. On February 1 last year, witch-hunting claimed three persons in Keonjhar district’s Daitari and Telkoi areas. Sambari Chattar (50) and her 40-year-old brother, Utsav Purty, were axed to death while 55-year-old Kandiri Majhi of Koilisuta near Telkoi was lynched to death.

On May 10 last year, Gouri Murmu (17) chopped the head of her sister’s mother-in-law suspecting sorcery and then surrendered to the Bisoi police station of Mayurbhanj district with the chopped head. In the same month, two persons, including a woman, were killed by their relatives suspecting witchcraft in Bisoi and Karanjia police station areas of the district. In April 2011, members of two families were paraded and force-fed animal excreta after being accused of witchcraft in Deogarh district’s Sunamunda village.

On May 12 this year, a 50-year-old tribal man Beju Majhi was killed by fellow villagers for practising witchcraft at Phuker village under the Bijepur police limits of Lanjigarh block in Kalahandi district. 

In Odisha, attacks on innocent people have been on the rise as witch-hunting takes heavy toll of life. Without lodging complaints against the persons at police station, villagers give them justice in the people’s court.

According to the Odisha Rationalists Society (ORS), 152 people were killed in between 2010 and June 1, 2012. Every year, a good number of persons are killed in the name of superstition and black magic. Witch-hunting casualties are on the rise across the State as 56 persons were killed in 2010, 72 persons in 2011 and 24 persons in 2012 (till June 1).

As per the data compiled by the ORS, Mayurbhanj district has been recorded with highest witch-hunting casualties of 28 out of the total 128 in the State in 2010 and 2011 followed by Keonjhar 19, Sundergarh 14, Ganjam eight and Dhenkanal seven. Even witch-hunting casualties occurred in the capital city Bhubaneswar and the millennium city Cuttack. The figure is only based on media reports, but every year unreported witch-hunting casualties are still on. Sad to say that 56 persons died due to witchcraft related violence, whereas only 38 persons were killed in Maoist menace in the State in 2011 which shows the gravity of the problem. 

On June 26 last year, an old man Ganapati Das (60) was killed by 15 villagers at Harijana village under Kodala police station of Ganjam. The villagers killed him suspecting him a sorcerer. Within a year, four incidents happened in the Kodala area only on witch-crafting, but the incident happened on March 31 this year was very unfortunate.

Two persons were killed and more than 17 persons injured in police firing at Phasipada village under Kodala police station. The incident happened when the police entered to the village for rescuing three persons from the clutches of the villagers who had taken the persons in custody alleging sorcerers.

After the incident, the ORS secretary Debendra Sutar filed a PIL in the Odisha High Court challenging the inaction of the State Government in curbing the crime in respect of witch hunting and superstitious act. The Division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice V Gopala Gowda and Justice S K Mishra gave a historical judgment by framing a set of guidelines to check the nuisance created by witchcraft and black magic. It may be noted that the State at present has no law to curb such type of superstitious practices.

By hearing two PILs filed separately by activist Sashiprava Bindhani and ORS secretary Sutar, the High Court directed the State Government to introduce an appropriate bill in the legislature within one year. The guidelines framed by the court shall be in force until a law is enacted to check the menace. The court in its guidelines said the State police should register cases under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and prosecute the perpetrators of such practices. The police should record the statements of the accused and witnesses under Section 164 of Cr PC.

The High Court on May 17 directed the State Government to spread awareness in the rural areas including all gram panchayats in order to curb the heinous crime in the name of superstitions, blind belief and black magic.

According to the members of ORS, the practice of “magic palanquins” technique by the experienced and trained sorcery practitioners hired by the villagers to pick out the wicked witchcraft practitioners of the village has also resulted in lynching and killing of many gullible persons. Even as the technique is not foolproof, which cannot be taken as true all the time, the villagers punish the victims by shaving their head, breaking their teeth and so on, they added.

Sometimes, the villagers force them to eat human excreta and slap them with a huge amount of fine. If the accused disobey their order, they kill them or isolate them from the village. The villagers have no right to take anyone’s life. It is the serious violation of the person’s fundamental right and Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which advocate about the right to life.

Eastern Range DIG Sanjay Kumar said, “The High Court guidelines will certainly help the police department to tackle these problems as before we did not have any guidelines to fight against witch-hunting, black magic and superstition.” He said he has directed all the District Collectors to follow the guidelines framed by the High Court. The DIG also said that by enforcement of rules only the illiterate people cannot be put under leash. So the District administration, police, media, NGOs, Asha and Anganwadi workers have to take concerted efforts for the eradication of the problem.

Kumar said that implementing the rules is not an easy task. The local officers should think about the issue deeply as they always deal with the common rural people every day. They should create awareness among the people about witch-hunting, black-magic and superstitions in panchayat and village levels, he added.

According to noted Sarvodaya activist and Rajyasabha MP AV Swamy, awareness campaign is an important aspect to eradicate witch-hunting and other superstitions, though a strong law is needed. The role of media and the local administration in sensitising the common people is very important, he added.  

According to the ORS, States like Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka have enacted laws to fight against witch-hunting and black-magic. The rationalist society has demanded a compact law like Maharashtra to fight against all type of superstitions in the State.

Sorcery killing is no less a crime than honour killing of Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. To curb this social stigma an appropriate step from the State Government is the need of hour, claimed the ORS.