Ranchi (Jharkhand):Taking cognizance of the killing of 275 people in a span of seven years between 2015 and 2022, the Jharkhand government has asked all the district police heads to stop this evil practise. The decision to dissuade the menace comes when at a time when Draupadi Murmu - the tribal leader who was once the governor of Jharkhand has been nominated as the NDA Presidential candidate.
Sources in the state government said that there has been a practise of witchcraft and killing people in the name of witches for long in the state but now the state government is determined to stop this evil practise. The state has made all the SPs of the district the nodal officer and the DIG (CID) has been made the nodal officer of the state. According to available data every year more than 20 women are killed in the state in the name of witches. According to sources in the police in most of the cases the priest, an exorcist is involved who convince the local illiterate people against the woman and this is done with an ulterior motive.
To stop this practice, the district police heads have already informed the police station to find out the priests and exorcists and take a written declaration from them that they will not be involved into any kind of the witch related activities. “This will create a fear among this people and help us prevent this superstitious activity,” a senior police officer said.
According to available data there are altogether 4690 cases registered in the period between 2015 and 2022 in which 275 people mostly women have lost their lives. Police record says that 211 women accuse of being witches have been killed between October 2015 and 2021 of which 40 are from chaibasa, 32 from Gumla, 29 from Khoonti, 22 from Simdega, and 20 from Jharkhand capital Ranchi.
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The practise was very much present during lockdown even. More than 22 women were killed in West Singbhoom during lockdown in 2021. “This is a pathetic practice where the person pleads his or her innocence infront of the entire village but victim, in most of the cases, is killed. We need to stop this”, a senior police officer said.
Police officers said that in most of the cases during investigation it was revealed that the women were killed because the women in tribal society have more land rights than men. “So it is obvious that they were killed with an ulterior motive. Some people are using this practise to satisfy their personal interest,” the officer added.
“It has been a peculiar practise. The local people often calls a Tantrik (Exorcist) or priest instead of a doctor to cure a child. If the child gets cured because of his or her immunity, then its good but if not then they will say that the child is under the control of the ghost and they will target someone and kill the person,” Ranchi DIG Anish Gupta said.
District Police Heads have been asked to identify people and sensitive areas and deploy efficient officers to thwart the menace. They have been told to convene weekly meetings with the local intelligence unit (LIU) to analyse the situation. If there are any such incident police stations have been instructed to inform SP immediately. To get timely information SHOs have been told to impart special training to chowkidars and Special police officers (SPO). Women Police personnel will be assigned the task to educate the people. District Police Chief told to take such case (witch killing) cases into fast track court so that guilty can be brought to task as soon as possible.
It has also been decided that police is going to launch a helpline number in each district shortly so that victim can get police assistance in case of emergency. The number will be displayed in public places so that more and more people can avail help. Jharkhand SPs and SSPs have been told to review situation from time to time and send their observation to DIG too. Thereafter DIG will compile the report and submit it to ADG CID. It has been made clear to the district police head to penalize the officers, who adopts a lackadaisical approach while dealing with such cases.
