Taking cognizance in the incident of witchcraft on Thursday, a five member team of District legal Services Authority(DlSA) visited Dulmi village under Sonahatu Block in Ranchi to take stock of the situation and assured all possible assistance in providing benefits of Government schemes to the victims of witchcraft. The team also tried to create awareness among the villagers against witchcraft.
Karo Devi, 65, and her daughter Basanti Devi, 35, registered their complaints on Friday, alleging that their relatives dragged them out of their house, forced them to eat faeces and tonsured them after accusing them of practising witchcraft on Thursday.
“The team visited the village on the directions of Principal Judicial Commissioner cum DlSA Chairman Navneet Kumar to know the ground realities and find out the exact reasons behind the incident,” said panel lawyer of DlSA Ravishankar Prasad. It was found that land dispute was the primary reason behind the incident executed by the family members only who have already been arrested, he added.
“They wanted the both the women to leave the village so that they could capture their land in the village,” said the panel lawyer.
According to the victims, around 10-12 people dragged the duo out of their house, smeared human excreta on their bodies and forced them to eat faeces and drink urine. Thereafter, they were taken to Subernarekha River from the village where they tonsured their heads and forced them to wear white saree.