In late September, a woman in the Dumka district of Jharkhand, India, filed a complaint with the police alleging a weekend ordeal at the hands of villagers who leveled accusations of witchcraft.
According to Vinay Kumar, head of the Saraiyahat Police station, who corroborated the ordeal, the complainant, along with two other women and one man, were victims of inhuman torture.
Jharkhand | 4 members of a family, including 3 women, were forced to consume human excreta after they were tortured with a hot iron rod in Aswari village in Sariyahat PS area of Dumka dist over allegation that they practised witchcraft: NK Singh, Inspector, Saraiyahat PS (26.09) pic.twitter.com/OlrPY3yn5V
— ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2022
The trouble began on the evening of September 24 when the complainant and her husband were accused of witchcraft and beaten by villagers. The following day the perpetrators returned and not only attacked the couple again but also attacked two female members of the couple’s family.
The victims were tied to a pole where they were beaten with a hot iron rod. According to Kumar, the perpetrators then filled a bottle with human excrement and forced the victims to consume it.
Someone informed the police, who arrived with a team to rescue the four victims.
Two victims were treated at a community health center, while the other two, with more severe injuries, were taken to a hospital.
According to reports, FIRs were registered against six people who have not been named. Charges include attempted murder and violations of the Prevention of Witchcraft Act, which Jharkhand established in 2001.
Police officials admit the Act is woefully inadequate, stating, “Fines range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 and prison terms range from 3 months to 1 year, depending on the nature of the crime. Given the severity of the outcomes…including death, inhumane treatment, bodily mutilation, rape, and various forms of mental and physical torture, the penal provisions of the Act do not adequately punish the instigators of these crimes or prevent others from engaging in these crimes.”
According to data published this past February, at least one thousand people were murdered in Jharkhand on suspicion of witchcraft over the last twenty-two years, of which 90 % were women. Police registered 4,556 cases of harassment due to witch accusations between 2015-2020, which amounts to two to three instances a day.
According to social organizations and NGOs, superstition and illiteracy are the main reasons for accusations and witch-hunts, but often there are ulterior motives.
