India and superstitions walk together. People become blind with false beliefs and often forgets humanity. Something similar happened in Assam where a 63-year-old woman was killed by youths on Monday afternoon, after machete-wielding villagers accused her of practising witchcraft.
Seven people have been arrested over the death of Moni Orang, a mother of five who was seized from her home on Monday after local priests said she was casting spells. The incident took place in Bhimajuli Village near Biswanath Chariali.
“Anima Ronghanti, 35, who claims to be a goddess, had asked the people to gather at a local temple,” Additional Superintendent of Police Samad Hussain said. She told them Orang was a witch and would bring bad luck to the village.
“Following this, the mob rushed to Orang’s house and dragged her out, took her to a nearby stream, almost stripped her naked and beheaded her in broad daylight,” the ASP was quoted as saying.
Adequate police force has been deployed in the village to ensure that there was no backlash.
“The situation is under control now. We have deployed forces in the village so that there is no communal backlash between the Adivasi and the Karbi communities,” the police official said.
Belief in witchcraft and the occult remains widespread in some impoverished and tribal-dominated areas of India. Witch hunting has taken lives of around 82 people in the last five years in Assam.
The state government is planning to put a special court to conduct trials of such cases. A punishment of three years to life imprisonment for those found guilty of witch hunting has been decided.
However, some states including Jharkhand have introduced special laws to try to curb crimes against people accused of witchcraft.