Another ‘witch’ beaten up, starved for 5 days

Hardly six months after an entire village was sent to jail over a similar incident, a 26-year-old woman was tortured and beaten up by villag...

Hardly six months after an entire village was sent to jail over a similar incident, a 26-year-old woman was tortured and beaten up by villagers who suspected her to be a tonhi (witch) in Chhattisgarh.

Shivwati Bai of village Junwani, 75 kms from here, has deep scars on her body and face as the evidence of torture she was subjected to by villagers. District Collector C.K. Khaitan said today a local tehsildar, who has conducted an inquiry into the case, has confirmed that Shivwati was tortured and denied food for five days. ‘‘Eight women and three men have been arrested in this connection,’’ he said.

The rumour about Shivwati started on May 7 when a newly-married girl, Purnima, fainted at her inlaws’ house. People say they heard her mumble Shivwati’s name. Purnima was brought back to the village the next day and the villagers asked Shivwati’s husband, Vinod, to get her treated by a tantrik. The reason being that they suspected Shivwati to be a tonhi.

Though Vinod obliged, the treatment didn’t work for Purnima fainted again the next day. Villages then went to Shivwati’s house and dragged her out. They beat her up and even threatened to kill her if she did not confess being a tonhi. The torture reportedly continued for five days and ultimately it was her husband who lodged a police complaint.

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