Outrage in Himachal over assault on 81-year-old woman on suspicious of witchcraft

Anger is brewing in Himachal after an 81-year-old woman was allegedly assaulted by a group, comprising mostly youth, at her village in Mandi district, with political

Anger is brewing in Himachal after an 81-year-old woman was allegedly assaulted by a group, comprising mostly youth, at her village in Mandi district, with political parties, social groups and organisations demanding stern action against the culprits.

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As many as twenty-one people have been arrested in this regard. The incident took place on Wednesday in Samahal village under Gahar Panchayat in Sarkaghat subdivision. The police swung into action and made arrests only after the video of the incident went viral on social media and came to chief minister Jai Ram Thakur’s notice, prompting him to direct police to register an FIR.

In the video, a group of youth can be seen smearing black polish on the elderly woman’s face and garlanding her with shoes. A few minutes later, they are witnessed forcefully dragging her in front of the local deity’s chariot in the village on the suspicion that she practised black magic. It was also reported that she was threatened to face the wrath of local deity in case she approached the police to file a complaint.

CONGRESS DEMANDS STERN ACTION

Condemning the incident, political parties have demanded strong action against the perpetrators.

“I am completely shocked over this shameful act. It has defamed Himachal in the entire country. This incident has proved that anti-social elements have no fear of law and order. It has also exposed the effectiveness of police and the state government,” state Congress chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore said.

The Congress chief demanded the state government to immediately provide financial assistance to the victim.

“The state government must make sure that such incidents do not repeat and the culprits should not be spared,” he said.

PROTEST ERUPTS IN SARKAGHAT

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) and its frontal organizations Kisan Sabha, the All India Democratic Women’s Association and Students’ Federation of India (SFI) staged a protest at the Sarkaghat town, where the incident took place, over the violence against the elderly women “in the name of the deity”.

The CPIM workers took out a protest march in the town and submitted a memorandum to the chief minister through Sarkghat sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), demanding strict action against the perpetrators. Kisan Sabha secretary Munish Sharma demanded that all the culprits be put behind the bars.

The Dev Samaj in the district also condemned the incident. The Sarv Devta Smiti, a coordination committee of all the deities in the district, in a meeting held at Mandi termed it as an inhumane act.

“No deity gives orders to carry out such heinous acts,” said committee president Shiv Pal, adding that such incidents defame the deity culture.

Pal said the committee will take action against such people and institutions who indulge in wrongdoings in the name of deity.

NCW SEEKS SPEEDY PROBE

The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Monday sought a speedy probe into the incident. Reacting to news reports about the incident, the NCW wrote a letter to the state’s director general of police (DGP) saying it is seriously concerned about the safety and security of women and is perturbed by the alleged incident.

“Considering the gravity of the matter, I request you to ensure swift and speedy investigation in the matter and send a detailed action-taken report to the Commission at an early date,” NCW member Shyamala S Kunder said in the letter.

POLICE, WOMEN GROUP MEETS VICTIM, ASSURE SUPPORT

Meanwhile, chairperson of Himachal State Commission For Women, Daisy Thakur, on Monday met with the 81-year-old victim at her daughter’s residence in Hamirpur and enquired about the details of what transpired during the incident.

She was accompanied by commission member Indu Bala.

Hamirpur superintendent of police (SP) Arjit Sen Thakur and additional deputy commissioner of police (ADC) Rattan Gautam also met the victim and assured her of justice.

The victim has been staying with her daughter and son-in-law in Hamirpur after the incident.

The chairperson said the commission had taken suo moto cognizance of the incident and the chief minister is personally involved in it.

MEDICAL EXAMINATION CONDUCTED

A team of medicos led by district health officer Dr Sanjay Jagota also visited the house of the victim and examined her. Later, the woman was taken to Sarkaghat under strong police protection for her medical checkup and identification of the culprit.