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The three deceased
This is the third such crime in recent times, which has claimed eight lives in total. Technology
But not only are such incidents tolerated, they are regarded with pride, and have full
social sanction in this Oraondominated village. Urban India
On January 2, Soma Khaka, aged 65, his wife Jhirgi, 60, and their daughter Phulo Water Resources
were hacked to death in full view of the village. “The villagers had branded them as
witches and exorcists and killing them was supposed to rid the village of evil Women
spirits,” says Manoj Kumar Thakur, officerincharge of the Tupudana outpost. He
says the killings occurred in the late evening hours, yet not a single villager claims
to have witnessed them even though the method of killing could hardly have gone Microsites
unnoticed.
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“The victims were attacked with sharpedged weapons; they were hit at the neck…
their heads were slashed from their bloodspattered bodies... their visage Film Forum
mangled,” says Thakur, who managed to reach the site of the killings about five
hours after they had occurred. During that time the bodies lay outside the family’s Defining Development
hut in pools of blood. The villagers were united in uttering no word of condemnation
and refusing to give evidence against anyone. Kids for Change
The lone survivor of the family is 15yearold Pinky Khaka, who at first was too Globalisation
petrified to say anything about the brutal massacre of her parents. Later she was
persuaded to speak and based on her statements, the police lodged an FIR. MDG 2015
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15yearold Pinky Khaka, the lone survivor
Still shaking with fright Pinky narrated the events of that terrible day. “We were
making chappatis in the evening, when my parents were dragged out of the house Add this page to your
and were hit. My sister, who ran out of the house shouting for help, was dragged by favorite Social Bookmarking
the hair and pushed to the ground. I hid outside the house and helplessly watched websites
my family being butchered…”
The police have made three arrests. According to the police investigation, the
motive for the killing lay in the death of the 14yearold Suman, daughter of Risha
Khaka who is related to the slain Soma Khaka on the auspicious occasion of
Karma in September 2009. Soma and his family who allegedly practised jhar
phoonki, a way of healing in rural areas, were blamed for Suman’s death when
another superstitious practice pointed to them.
The villagers had organised a tribal ritual called daalia, wherein a b hagat who is
considered a messenger of God and possessed of divine powers, identifies the
culprit. The b hagat reportedly pointed fingers at Soma and so firm is the villagers’
belief in the infallibility of his judgment, that once he identifies a culprit, he/she has
to be killed in the best interests of the community.
After the police arrested three villagers, including Risha Khaka, the enraged
villagers of Saudag stormed the police outpost. Armed with axes and sticks they
demanded the immediate release of the three arrested. “They have been arrested
for no fault of theirs. Who will run their home and hearth and feed their children?”
they demanded. But they refuse to say who could be responsible for the killings.
“We have no idea as to who committed the killing and why,” is their unvarying
refrain.
Almost 100 policemen had to be deployed at the outpost to contain the situation.
Thakur addressed the villagers asking them not to take the law into their own hands
and to let the police do their duty.
According to police statistics, 900 women have been killed in the state of Jharkhand
as a result of witchhunting or dain pratha, since 1995. Women from remote rural
backyards, branded as witches, are tortured and even brutally killed in defiance of
all laws.
The capital city of Ranchi has registered the most such deaths with 240 cases. This
is followed by West Singbhum where 178 women have so far been killed for
practicing witchcraft. In other tribal dominated districts such as Lohardaga and
Gumla, the figures are 127 and 100 respectively. In industrial districts such as
Bokaro, Dhanbad, and Jamshedpur, though the figures are predictably lower, they
nonetheless exist.
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Angry villagers outside the police outpost
Since these are registered figures and many cases go unreported, this could be
merely the tip of the iceberg. “We can take action only if a first information report
(FIR) is lodged, and somebody is prepared to speak. In a number of cases, such
incidents often go unreported,” says a senior police official, acknowledging the
inadequacy of the response.
In most cases when a woman is branded a witch, she is either a widow or an old
lady with property and assets and the accused have been found to be her kin or
distant family members.
What is badly needed in these areas is development and education to dispel the
pall of ignorance and superstition in which this and other villages wallow. Though
Saudag village is barely 14 km from the capital city, there is no primary health centre
nearby.
“We need to set up medical centres in such backward villages so that the villagers
go to the doctors for treatment rather than trying to get cured through black magic.
There is no approach road to the village either,” admitted the minister.
“We are trying to reach out to such villages through our chowkidars who are usually
locals from the neighbouring villages. Pamphlets are being printed for them to
distribute,” says Rajiv Randan, deputy superintendent of police, Hatia, Ranchi.
“We will try and ensure that such incidents do not recur in future,” Randan says. But
if these villagers continue to be cut off from the mainstream of development, their
lives will continue to be dominated by superstitions and blind and unreasoning
faith.
(Moushumi Basu is a freelance journalist b ased in Jharkhand)
InfoChange News & Features, February 2010
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