Pensioner burnt for 'witchcraft'

2003-07-05 13:10

New Delhi - A 65-year-old woman was burnt to death in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand on suspicion of being a witch, a report said on Saturday.

The incident took place early this week in a village in the Gumin district of the state, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.

The paper reported that the immolation took place a day after two women were burnt to death in the Godda area of the state on suspicion of being witches. The order to kill them was issued by a council of village elders known as Panchayat.

The paper said generally such killings are ordered by witch doctors known as Ojhas.

"In most of the cases, it's either for sexual desires of the Ojhas, if the victim is young, or for land and property in the case of an elderly woman, that such crimes are committed," said the chief of the Free Legal Aid Committee, a non-governmental organisation campaigning against killing of alleged witches told the newspaper.

The Hindustan Times said while the state had passed a law two years ago to prevent persecution and killing of alleged witches, law enforcement agencies have little knowledge of the law, so it is hardly ever implemented. - Sapa-DPA

- SAPA