New Delhi: Women and child welfare minister Maneka Gandhi Friday told the Lok Sabha that Orissa ranks second in the country in terms of women who are tortured to death for suspected sorcery.
As per records, Orissa registered 26 sorcery murders in 2015 after the victims were proclaimed ‘witches’. As many as 32 such killings were reported from Jharkhand last year.
Responding to a question of Dhenkanal MP Tathagata Satpathy (BJD) about state-wise cases of assault related to witchcraft and measures taken by the Centre to curb the social menace, the minister said it is a law and order issue which is a state subject.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 135 women had been killed in 2015 on suspicion that they practised ‘witchcraft’.
The Centre, however, has been working to create awareness over the issue in the country, She added.
“As per the Seventh Schedule, police and public law and order are state subjects and as such the primary responsibility of prevention, detection, registration, investigation and prosecution of crime including sati and witch-hunting lies with the states.”
“National Commission for Women (NCW) also conducts seminars and workshops from time to time to create awareness on the issue and discourage such practices. Harassment, torture and murder which are associated with witchcraft are punishable crimes under Indian Penal Code,” she added.
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