From Our Correspondent
TURA, July 24: A family of four from the village of Sathegre under Dadenggre police station in West Garo Hills (WGH) was allegedly chased out of their own house by their neighbours over allegations of practicing witchcraft.
Accusations of witchcraft have been a common phenomenon around the Dadenggre area with many cases being reported.
Many residents, who had flourishing businesses, were earlier displaced due to these accusations. A case that comes to mind is the horrific Mrigre case near Rongram, which saw five members of the same family lynched to death by villagers over similar allegations.
Cases against the perpetrators, despite being registered, have seen very slow progress and has not helped fight against the menace. This comes despite the prevalence of information on social media, which completely debunks witchcraft in all its forms.
The incident apparently goes back to December 2023 when one Ringnalin M Sangma was confronted by their neighbours over suspicions of practicing witchcraft. They were driven out of their home in the middle of the night, with the villagers not even allowing them to carry essential items or money.
The family then struggled for about seven months, doing menial labour to make ends meet while living in the nearby village of Chiading where they were given shelter.
Incidentally, the family of four consists of the parents and two daughters, one studying in Class XII and another still in Class V, whose education has now been affected by the current situation being faced by the family.
Hoping that the people may have forgotten and forgiven them about the entire episode, the family once again ventured back to their village in Sathegre to restart life.
However, suspicious villagers on July 14 once again came together to chase them out of their house towards the night, leaving them completely helpless, without food and money and having to care for two young children.
The family, which is now without money to support their daily lives, then approached social activist, Jaynie N Sangma, seeking help.
“They came with nothing and it was really horrifying that the entire family had nothing with them to even eat. What they told me is that a verbal complaint had even been filed with the Dadenggre Police Station but the matter was not taken seriously. The family’s livelihood options currently are zero as they are not able to return to their homes where they were flourishing plantations (betel nut and pepper) as well as livestock, which no one is taking care of,” informed Jaynie.
She added that when the family tried to keep their livestock in their mother’s home in the same village, the villagers threatened to ostracise her too, leaving them with no option but to leave completely empty-handed.
Upon reaching the activist’s house, the family then informed what had taken place following which the family was taken to the Tura Police Station to seek help.
Upon hearing the case, West Garo Hills Superintendent of Police, Abraham T Sangma, immediately took up the case and an FIR was registered on July 22 in Tura before it was transferred to Dadenggre where the SP confirmed that the SDPO would lead the investigation.
What has been devastating for the family is the alleged involvement of a local pastor, who allegedly incited the villagers to act against the family, despite being a man of the Church.
Meanwhile, appeals have been made to the clan members (Mangsang) for a solution to the issue so that the family is able to return with the children to their school for education.
“We can only do so much and following Court orders ensure the family is able to return back to their village. However, as per custom, the clan members need to intervene and help both the family as well as the entire village. Their intervention into the matter is crucial,” informed a highly placed police source.