Thaindian News

Jaipur, May 19 (IANS) A woman in Rajasthan’s Ajmer district has filed a complaint alleging that she has been branded a witch, tortured and is being forced to leave her village by some residents.

According to police, Jadav Devi, a resident of Rampura village, about 160 km from here, recently lodged her complaint, following which an inquiry has been ordered.

“I am being mentally tortured, harassed and some residents are forcing me to leave my village,” Jadav Devi said in her complaint.

Talking to IANS, a police officer said: “They have ordered her expulsion from the society by claiming that she is a dayan (witch) and possesses evil spirit. Due to the expulsion, nobody can talk to her. She says that some villagers have told her to leave the village immediately, failing which they have threatened to torture her further.”

He said that it is being investigated whether branding her a witch is a conspiracy of some relatives to grab her property.

Rajasthan has in the past seen many cases like this, resulting in suicides.

In a bid to curb this, the women and child development ministry has made provision for a stringent legislation against the practice in the recently proposed Rajasthan Women (Prevention & Protection from Atrocities) Bill, 2011.

The draft bill says that if any person or community intentionally or inadvertently abets, conspires, aids and instigates the identification of a woman as a witch, leading to her mental and physical torture and humiliation, it would be considered as a crime.

The bill has proposed seven years imprisonment and fine for those who grab the land of such women after forcing them to leave their house.

If a woman commits suicide, then the accused shall be given a prison sentence of not less than five years, which can be extended to 10 years with minimum fine of Rs.25,000 which may extend to Rs.50,000, the bill says.