3 murders last week on suspicion of witchcraft
Raipur. No woman is a witch, Dr. Dinesh Mishra, President of Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti said that last week 3 murders have taken place in the rural areas of Kanker and Mahasamund, Dantewada districts of Chhattisgarh on suspicion of being a witch. Incidents of attacking an innocent woman and her family on the basis of superstition, witchcraft and other misleading beliefs are highly condemnable. Strict action should be taken against the culprits. The committee will visit all these cases and meet the harassed families and make the villagers aware.
Dr. Dinesh Mishra said that a case of superstition has come to light from Kanker. Here, a person Tulsiram of village Dhakuna killed 17-year-old minor girl Meenakshi Markam by chopping her with an axe on suspicion of witchcraft. This is the first case in the state of murder of such a young girl due to witchcraft harassment.
In another case in village Sanbahli near Mahasamund, a 75-year-old old woman Sanmet Kashyap was murdered by her neighbor Santosh Manjhi by cutting her with a tangia, accusing her of practicing witchcraft. It has been learned that the wife of accused Santosh Manjhi died some time back due to illness, but he suspected his neighbor Sanmat of being a witch, and due to this suspicion he killed Sanmat. The third case is of May 14, in which an old man Hidma Podiami was murdered with an axe by his neighbor on the suspicion of witchcraft in Marjum of Katekalyan police station area of Dantewada. Dr. Mishra said that every person’s problem and its reasons are different, which can be solved by rational measures. Beliefs like witchcraft do not exist, so no one can kill anyone, trouble anyone, or cause any harm to crops etc. by so-called witchcraft. The belief of witchcraft, Tonhi, Daayan is just a superstition. Which does not exist, and torturing any woman, beating her and her family, killing her on such suspicion is unfair, cruel and criminal. Villagers should not fall into such superstition. Dr Mishra has demanded from the administration that immediate action should be taken in this case and the accused should be given the harshest punishment so that in future no person can try to do such an inappropriate act. The committee will meet the villagers in all these matters and make them aware.
