BHUBANESWAR: Even as witchcraft superstition remains a deep-rooted issue in Odisha, the state has seen a significant drop in registration of cases against such crimes in the last two years.
While 62 cases were registered last year, in 2023 it was 69, 102 in 2022, 79 in 2021 and 95 in 2020. However, out of the total crimes, the police are receiving only 69 per cent complaints from the victims or their kin, said former DGP BK Sharma during a seminar on ‘Witchcraft: An Overview Impact on Administration’ organised by the Indian Institute of Public Administration’s (IIPA) Odisha chapter here on Thursday.
While the Odisha Prevention of Witch-Hunting Act was implemented to address witch-hunting in the state, it still lacks teeth to contain the widespread menace which is prevalent even after 79 years of Independence, he said.
Sharma, who is also a member of IIPA, said the Act has only 11 sections and all of them have been covered in just two-and-a-half pages. The Act requires crucial amendments to effectively deal with such cases, he opined.
“As per the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act, 2015, government functionaries can be made liable too if they do not inform the police about the victims being branded as witches,” said Sharma.
In cases of branding of victims as witches or witch-hunting related murders, the entire village supports the accused persons, he said adding, in such circumstances it is important on part of sarpanches and gram rakhis to pass on the information to the police.
Disagreeing to the notion that witch-hunting is a gendered phenomenon, Sharma pointed out that even men have been victims of such crimes. About four men were allegedly murdered in various parts of the state between 2021 and 2023 over suspicion of practising sorcery, he said.
IIPA chairman and retired IAS officer KK Patnaik said witch-hunting is mostly prevalent in rural and interior areas of the state. “The state government must act sensitively to curb the menace and regularly create awareness among the people,” he added.
Odisha has reportedly recorded the second highest witch-hunting related murders in the country after Jharkhand between 2014 and 2022. About 382 people were killed during the period. Witch-hunting is still prevalent in 12 districts of the state, the IIPA said.