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Year on, little impact of anti-superstition law in Karnataka
Despite the outrage and law, finding a black magic practitioner in Karnataka takes only a Google search. In the rural parts of the state, especially in north Karnataka contacts of these practitioners are household names.
After doctors said that her brother will not recover from a paralytic stroke, 36-year-old Rashidunisa approached a black magic practitioner in Bengaluru. The practitioner Naseema convinced her that if they don’t sacrifice a 10-year-old girl in 45 days, the man will not survive. In the days that followed Rashidunisa and her brother Mohammad Wasil, along with a minor began searching for a girl.
On March 1, 2017, they zeroed in on their neighbour and cousin Mohammad Noorulla’s daughter. The three of them went to their house around 8.30 pm and kidnapped her. She was taken to a building in an isolated location in Hosahalli on the outskirts of Magadi. After performing rituals for two days they strangled the minor with a ribbon she had used to tie her hair. On March 3, on Naseema’s instructions, they packed the girl’s body in a gunny bag and threw it by the road. The trio was arrested three days later.
The incident led to outrage in the Silicon Valley, with rationalists pushing for an Anti-Superstition Bill. Years later, even after the Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act, the Bill was formally notified in 2020. However, despite the law coming into force, a suspected case of black magic came into fore after a two-year-old girl was found abandoned at a sugarcane field at Halyala village in Belagavi district on September 3, 2021.
“During the investigation, we realized the burns were made using camphor and almond oil. Since they were commonly used in black magic and the patterns on the body suggested the same, we are investigating the same,” said one of the investigating officers in the case. Just weeks after, Karnataka police arrested a doctor on October 18 for murdering his wife by injecting a high dose of drugs in a suspected case of a ‘black magic’ ritual in Davanagere district.
Despite the outrage and law, finding a black magic practitioner in Karnataka takes only a Google search. In the rural parts of the state, especially in north Karnataka contacts of these practitioners are household names. Narendra Nayak, president of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations (FIRA) said that the practice of black magic in northern parts of Karnataka is decades old.
“In the old regions of the Nizam’s Hyderabad (today’s Hyderabad Karnataka), the practice is called Banamathi, which is a form of black magic. Even now, there are those who follow this, and instances of human sacrifice too are reported in this practice. It was because of one such case of human sacrifice, where a child was killed, I left my job and began campaigning against such practices,” he said.
Banamathi is among the practices that have been banned under the Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act, but the practice continues in the state. “If you look at the numbers you find online or you get otherwise, the practitioners will claim that they are not into a black magic and they practice only non-harmful old rituals, but if you are really keen you will find people,” Nayak added.
Another rationalist, who didn’t want to be named said that since former MLAs and a former chief minister were alleged to have participated in black magic rituals, some practitioners have got legitimacy and there is a confidence that there won’t be a crackdown from the police. “Political class is worried about playing with people’s believes, however heinous they could be. When the Anti-Superstition Act was introduced for the first time, it was watered down severely. Since lines between black magic and other practices are blurred due to the watering down of the act, there has been no active enforcement from the police, even as these practices are advertised in some parts of the state,” added the activist.
A senior police officer admitted that a crackdown on black magic is high on the police’s priority list, however, all cases are investigated rigorously and police are acting on the information provided to them.
Nayak however believes that police enforcement is not the solution to the problem. “When this new Act came into force, I said something is better than nothing. That is because, unless there is a change in people’s mindset, these practices would continue. Fear of punishment doesn’t stop crime,” he said.
Meanwhile, police were unable to identify the 2-year-old who was subjected to black magic in Belagavi district on September 3. Police had circulated photographs of the child and requested people for any information about her or her family. She wasn’t able to give a statement to the police either since she was unconscious. Since no missing reports were found, police now suspect that the girl’s parents had sold her for black magic for price.
