Nine years after Dabholkar’s death, rules under Black Magic Act yet to be framed

The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) has demanded the formulation of rules for the implementation of the Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Act which was passed by the state government in 2013

The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) has demanded the formulation of rules for the implementation of the Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Act which was passed by the state government in 2013.

The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) has demanded the formulation of rules for the implementation of the Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Act which was passed by the state government in 2013. (HT FILE PHOTO)

According to MANS, it has been nine years since the brutal murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar, who was the founder of the Samiti and the state government is yet to implement the act. Dr Dabholkar was assassinated on August 20, 2013, while he was on a morning walk at Maharshi Vitthal Ramji Shinde bridge.

According to Dr Dabholkar’s son Hamid , Maharashtra has seen three governments so far, but none of them showed the desired alacrity for formulating rules to implement the said law on ground. “Till date, after the passage of the act, it was expected to formulate the rules, but that has not been done. During the past two months, many serious cases have been reported across the state regarding extreme superstitious behaviour which makes it essential to frame the rules,” he said.

It is also necessary to train the vigilance officers mentioned under this act for the effective implementation and also to appoint a nodal police officer for the effective implementation of the Anti-witchcraft Act at each district level, demanded MANS.

Nandini Jadhav and Milind Deshmukh, members of the MANS Executive Committee stated that the government is not taking any efforts to enforce law.