Assam drafts law against witch hunting

Guwahati: Attempting to tackle the menace of witch hunting, the Assam government is proposing to make it a non-bailable crime, slapping murder charges on offenders in specific cases, and imposing fine on an entire community if the people of the locality are found to be involved.
The state government has published a draft of The Prevention and Protection from Witch Hunting Bill, 2015’, through which stringent laws to curb witch hunting has been proposed.
Among the provisions proposed is to charge with murder an offender, who accuses a person of being a witch and causes the victim’s death.
As community involvement is witnessed in witch hunting cases at times, the draft Bill has proposed to fine each member of the community between Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000 each if proven of involvement.
Punishments proposed include imprisonment of various time periods, going up to life imprisonment, and imposition of fines. Witch hunting has been proposed to be made cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable crime, with special courts for trial.
The draft Bill has also provisions for relief and rehabilitation of the victims, including providing medical and legal aid. The state government has sought views of all stakeholders by June seven next. There has been a growing demand from various quarters for a stringent law, dealing specifically with witch hunting, and the chief minister had assured of bringing in such a legislation at the earliest.
The Assam Police has a special programme to create awareness against witch hunting, while various NGOs are also working in the field. A slight decline in number of deaths of witch hunting victims has been observed, with the figure coming down to six in 2014 after reaching 31 in 2011 from 13 such victims in 2005. (UNI)