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• Two women were allegedly abducted, beheaded and buried as part of a “witchcraft ritual” in the Pathanamthitta district, Kerala.

Present Status of Witchcraft in India

• According to the National Crime Records Bureau report of 2021: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana accounted for 49 out of the 68 registered cases of witchcraft in the country.
• In India, no Union law criminalizes actions that promote the belief in witchcraft; however, several states had made laws.

States' law on witchcraft

• In 1999, Bihar became the first state to introduce a law on the subject.
  • It defined Witches as women who were thought by society members to possess the power of harming others through the art of black magic, evil eyes, or “Mantras” (chants).
• Bihar passed the Prevention Of Witch Practices Act, of 1999, which provides effective measures to prevent witch practices and identification of a woman as a witch and their oppression mostly prevalent in Tribal areas and to eliminate the woman’s torture, humiliation and killing by the society.
  • The act defined it as a cognizable and non-bailable offence; meaning a police officer could make an arrest without a warrant, and bail is not automatic given.
  • It has a provision of jail term extending up to 3 months or a fine of Rs 1,000 for those who caused harm to a woman by branding her a witch.
• In 2001, Jharkhand also made a law. According to the law identification of ‘witches’, lead to horrific crimes against women…including death, inhumane treatment, rape, etc.
• In Chhattisgarh; Provision of punishment of up to 3 years of jail for identifying any person as a witch.
• Odisha passed a law in 2013 to provide effective measures to tackle the menace of witch-hunting.
• In 2018, Assam passed a law to prevent the sharing of harmful information and to ensure the protection or shelter home the possible victims.

Way Forward

• Illiteracy, misleading information, Orthodox and superstitious mindset of the people are the main reasons behind this evil practice.
• Strict implementation of the law and promotion of education and social awareness could help us to get rid of this social evil.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/what-are-the-laws-on-witchcraft-in-india-8206958/

https://t.me/+hJqMV1O0se03Njk9

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