The Home Ministry informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, 27 December, that as many as 183 women were killed in Jharkhand over the past four years in cases of lynching in the guise of witchcraft, The Times of India reported.
In a written response to a question from an MP, the Minister of State for Home, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, said that 42 women were killed in the state till November this year after being ‘identified’ as witches. Citing information provided by the Jharkhand police, the previous years’ death toll has been 44, 51, and 46 in 2016, 2015 and 2014 respectively.
"Cases have been registered in this regard in different districts of the state, and investigations of such cases are given priority," Ahir remarked.
Jharkhand police records peg the tally of women killed in the guise of witchcraft to be higher than figures cited in crime statistics maintained by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). While NCRB report on Crime in India puts the figure for Jharkhand at 27, the Jharkhand police put the number of women murdered under this category in 2016 at 44.
Even according to the NCRB figure, Jharkhand topped the chart of witch-hunting murders in the country in 2016, Hindustan Times reported.
Odisha stands second with 24 witch-hunting murders. The overall figure for India was 134 in 2016, according to NCRB.
With Jharkhand reporting 27 murders, Odisha 24, Madhya Pradesh 19 and Chhattisgarh 17 killings in 2016, the incidents of women being killed in the guise of witchcraft are the highest in tribal-dominated societies.
An analysis of the data since 2001 for Jharkhand shows a total of 523 women lynched after being branded as witches till 2016, the TOI report added. With 54 persons being killed, the state witnessed the highest number of murders in 2013.
As informed by Jharkhand police, Ahir further added that the property was seized in case of absconding offenders while most other offenders faced an arrest. In most cases, chargesheets have been submitted against the offenders.
However, since 2013, the murder trend has declined by more than 50 percent, bringing the much needed respite for the state, the HT report added.
“We are happy with the declining trend of such incidents but we have to work hard to eliminate it,” MS Bhatia, principal secretary, Jharkand women and child welfare department told HT.
Social issues like witchcraft, early marriage, anaemia and others can be addressed under the provision of the Tejaswini scheme targeted for girls between the age group of 14 and 24 years.
(With inputs from Times of India, Hindustan Times)
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