This 145;witch146; couldn146;t save self

Before Palari police could rescue her, Shivwati had been branded a tonahi village witch, dragged out of her house by her hair, beaten up i...

Before Palari police could rescue her, Shivwati had been branded a tonahi village witch, dragged out of her house by her hair, beaten up in public, tortured and even forced to consume human faeces.

No one in Junwani village, less than 10 km from Palari in Chhattisgarh, came to her rescue as Shivwati lay motionless for four hours because of broken bones. 8216;8216;She was just 15 minutes away from her death,8217;8217; says Palari SHO G.D. Lehare.

Among those who helplessly watched were her father-in-law Dharam Chand and two brothers-in-law. Women and children locked themselves inside while her husband Vinod Nishad ran from house to house in search of village kotwar chowkidar Kalyan Dass. Approaching police was his last resort.

Though it8217;s been a week to the incident and police have already sent 13 accused, including eight women 8212; all from one family 8212; to the jail, there is an uneasy calm in the village. For Jiwan Lal, whose family seven brothers is involved in the incident, wields considerable influence over the community.

Most families in the village, except that of Jiwan Lal, are poor and work as labourers. Admits Shivwati8217;s father-in-law Dharam Chand Nishad: 8216;8216;We could not dare to save her. She was beaten up mercilessly and tortured before our eyes. We are so ashamed of ourselves that we cannot face Shivwati now.8217;8217; Himself one of the village panchs, Nishad says Shivwati is innocent.

Junwani 8212; a predominantly backward caste village 8212; was first to witness a tonahi incident. Shivwati Bai, now discharged from the hospital and living with her parents at neighbouring village of Gitpuri, is unable to fathom why she was singled out and branded a tonahi.

She had been away for seven months with her husband to work as a migrant labourer in Maharashtra and had returned barely 15 days back. All she can put her finger to is a tiff she had with Jiwan Lal8217;s wife but she says she was quite friendly with Purnima, Jiwan Lal8217;s daughter.

Story continues below this ad

It was Purnima who had fainted two days after her own marriage. In her unconsciousness, she reportedly named Shivwati as being the cause of her 8216;8216;ailment8217;8217;, triggering the story of witch-hunt and vendetta. The villagers forced Vinod to shell out Rs 2,000 for the village baiga the witch doctor Lussu Ram for treating Purnima.

8216;8216;We had returned from Maharashtra and had a saving of Rs 5,000. Perhaps someone was eyeing our cash. A day before Shivwati was dragged to the village chowki, I was told to pay Rs 2,000 to the village baiga,8217;8217; Vinod says. He refuses to return to the village, not because he fears a fresh assault but his faith in the village is totally shaken. 8216;8216;How can I live there, where my own are of no help to me,8217;8217; he asks.

Dinesh Mishra, who heads a Raipur-based NGO working on superstitions, says: 8216;8216;We are making efforts to being the woman back and make the villagers repent for their actions.8217;8217; Another NGO compiling data and tending to tonahi cases claims superstitions are just an excuse to settle scores with women of weaker sections.