BHUBANESWAR: The blood-curdling human sacrifice in Kerala is a chilling reminder of sorcery and witchcraft-related violence that exists in Odisha which implemented a special legislation to deal with the menace eight years back.
This year, about 61 FIRs have been registered under Odisha Prevention of Witch Hunting Act 2013. Forty of them are serious in nature. Mayurbhanj district topped with 25 offences; Keonjhar stood at the second spot with 11 cases.
Between 2014 and 2021, 597 cases have been registered under the Act by the Crime Branch, says Sashiprava Bindhani, former State Information Commissioner who had petitioned the Orissa High Court in 2011 for a separate law to deal with witch hunting violence.
As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, in last eight years, one incident of human sacrifice (in 2019) has been reported in Odisha.During 2019-2021, as many as 29 witchcraft related murders were recorded. In 2014, when the Act was implemented, the number stood at 32.
However, activists claim human sacrifices are under-reported by kin of the victims as well as police. As per a study conducted by Odisha Rationalist Society, 70 human sacrifices were recorded between 2010 and 2019 throughout the State.
“This number is based on case studies, RTI applications and interviews of family members of people who were killed over sorcery and the accused. In most of the cases, probe focuses only on murder,” its secretary Debendra Sutar said.
ADG (Crimes against Women & Children wing) Rekha Lohani refutes that violence or human sacrifices cases are under-reported. After implementation of Mo Sarkar, more victims are now coming forward to register complaints under the Act, she says.
“Odisha Police has been providing the victims access to justice - be it through swift registration of complaints or ensuring rehabilitation grants/compensation reaches them on time,” Lohani said. She acknowledges that witchcraft is a societal problem and cannot be dealt with by the police alone.
Most of the violence is reported from Rayagada, Sundargarh, Parlakhemundi, Ganjam and Gajapati apart from Apart from Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar.
Victims of the brutality are usually women, particularly from the Scheduled Caste and tribal communities. Most of incidents are done with an intent of revenge, grab landed property or seek sexual favours from women, says Bindhani.