A woman was allegedly murdered by unidentified miscreants on suspicion of practicing witchcraft at Gossaigaon in Assam’s Kokrajhar district.
The incident occurred in the Satyapur’s Paharpur area of the town in the late hours of Tuesday, wherein the old lady was attacked with a sharp weapon.
Sources informed that the miscreants had allegedly slit her throat while she was in her sleep. She was found lying in a pool of blood by locals.
The victim was identified as Maino Hasda, wife of Late Mose Murmur.
Notably, Witch-Hunting, a social malaise is a common phenomenon in several parts of Assam. The killings have not stopped despite mass awareness campaigns by the state government, NGOs, and individuals.
In 2017, the Gauhati High Court observed that branding a person as a witch and then, resorting to witch-hunting is a dehumanising act and one of the worst forms of human rights violations. The court had observed that the menace had to be confronted at multiple levels.
Furthermore, In 2018, the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act was enacted to provide for more effective measures to prohibit witch-hunting and prevent and protect persons from witch-hunting.
The Act says, “Whoever assaults or uses criminal force or causes assault or use of criminal force against a person accusing him/her to be a witch, resulting in his/her death, shall be punished in accordance with IPC section 302.
