PakistanTalk Forum

Lady Macbeth · 10-20-2009, 05:26 PM

Five women were paraded naked, beaten and forced to eat human excrement by villagers after being branded as witches in India's Jharkhand state.
Local police said the victims were Muslim widows who had been labelled as witches by a local cleric.
The incident occurred on Sunday in a remote village in Deoghar district.
Correspondents say the abuse of women who are branded as witches is common, but rare footage of the incident has caused outrage across India.
Police went to Pattharghatia village after being informed about the incident by a group of villagers.

'Possessed'
They have lodged a case against 11 villagers, including six women. Four people have been arrested in connection with the incident.
The victims were taken to a playground where hundreds had assembled to watch. Murari Lal Meena Deputy police inspector general.
Armed police have since been deployed to the area.
"On Sunday morning the victims were taken to a playground where hundreds had assembled to watch the ghastly incident," deputy inspector general of police Murari Lal Meena told the BBC.
"No one in the mob came forward to rescue the victims as they were being stripped and beaten up," he said.
The victims are now under police protection.
Police say that people in Pattharghatia believe that certain women in their village are possessed by a "holy spirit" that can identify those who practise witchcraft.
"These women recently identified five women from the same village as being witches who practised witchcraft and brought miseries to the area," a police official said.
Soon, an unruly mob broke into their huts, dragged them out and started beating them up.
Footage of the incident has been aired on television channels in India prompting outrage.
Hundreds of people, mostly women, have been killed in India because their neighbours thought they were witches.
Experts say superstitious beliefs are behind some of these attacks, but there are occasions when people - especially widows - are targeted for their land and property.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8317421.stm

Lady Macbeth · 10-20-2009, 05:31 PM

And I thought the days of the Salem witch hunt were long gone.......
It seems hundreds have been killed by an angry mob because they were branded as witches....

Solid Beast · 10-20-2009, 05:32 PM

I thought witch hunts were over hundreds of years ago! This is sad...

Quote:

Local police said the victims were Muslim widows who had been labelled as witches by a local cleric.

Quote:

Hundreds of people, mostly women, have been killed in India because their neighbours thought they were witches.

This village must be evacuated of any more innocent Muslims and gassed to hell.

DarkStar · 10-20-2009, 05:36 PM

YouTube - NewsX Video: Women accused of witchcraft

Secular India Shining!...Tera Bhaarat Mahaan!

Solid Beast · 10-20-2009, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Experts say superstitious beliefs are behind some of these attacks, but there are occasions when people - especially widows - are targeted for their land and property.

This is the real reason such idiocy prevailed. I have heard of worse stories of innocents losing lands and status in Indian villages because they happen to be Muslim and weak in number in a certain area. It is simply theft that is justified with religion and a form of ethnic cleansing.

Now which one is the witch and who is the cleric?

DarkStar · 10-20-2009, 05:44 PM

I must say, some very cool dreadlocks there...People have to pay upto 300 euros here to get theirs done.

wtf · 10-20-2009, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solid Beast

I thought witch hunts were over hundreds of years ago! This is sad...
This village must be evacuated of any more innocent Muslims and gassed to hell.

Witch hunts are stupid and the people ignorant. But let's not make this a Hindu-Muslim issue. The clerics who branded these women witches were Muslim too.

The cruelty of the accused persons, comprising women hailing from the same community, could be gauged from the fact that all the victims were stripped in public and paraded for hours while they kept on pleading their innocence.

Those who have been named in the FIR included Khutena Bibi, Rahmat Mian, Sakina Bibi, Budhu Mian and seven others.

5 women stripped & paraded, 4 held - Patna - City - The Times of India

On the other hand, at least one of the women in the video had bangles on, so it seems like Hindus and Muslims are united in this idiocy.

wtf · 10-20-2009, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solid Beast

Now which one is the witch and who is the cleric?

Don't judge people by the looks.

I am not particularly religious, but I have to respect those Sadhus.

Their belief is that everything is the creation of god, so everything is holy. So they cover themselves in ashes and live in burial grounds because those must be holy too. They rarely bother anyone, since they can't steal anything, have no houses nor wish to have anything. They do not marry either, so they can't give any money they have to another. They do their own burial rituals before they take up this life, so they have no expectation that someone else will care for them in their old age.

Since one feels a feeling of niceness towards others when one gets a gift, these people believe that a life lived on kindness of others brings a feeling of unity with the world. Hence most live on alms or by begging.

Why would I complain about someone who wants nothing from me, nor wishes me any harm ? On the other hand, the well-dressed, educated,smiling suit-wearer on Wall-Street, I'd be really careful about.

duhastmish · 10-21-2009, 02:56 AM

hmmmmmmmm, friggin rrrats.

there are talebani with a different name existing in india as well.

India better wipe them off. this is not the only case u see around.

women are always oppressed in these part of world.

---- and yeh its not just hinduism - it happens in almost all the religion. its just not right to tag it with a culture or religion. ----------

Al-Zakir · 10-23-2009, 12:32 PM

Monday, 19 October 2009

Ranchi, October 19: Five women were stripped and paraded naked in Deoghar district of Jharkhand after being charged of witchcraft, police said Monday.

Five women, including three widows, were forcibly brought to a field Sunday in Patharghatia village in Deoghar, about 350 km from state capital Ranchi. They were stripped and paraded naked and two of them were forced to eat excreta, police said.

"Sushila Kumahrin, Sagiran Beebi, Hafijan Beebi, Sujan Beebi and Gulnar Beebi were tortured to accept that they were witches and practise black magic. The incident took place at the instruction of a witch doctor. The witch doctor said that these women were practising black magic and were causing problems in the village," a police officer told IANS.

The women were rescued when local government officials and police reached the spot. However, the perpetrators managed to escape.

According to reports, hundreds of people witnessed the incident.

"We have lodged an FIR (First Information Report) against 11 people, including six women. We will soon arrest the perpetrators," the officer added.

Majority of perpetrators were Muslims and four of the five victims belonged to the same community.

In Jharkhand, women are subjected to different forms of torture after being branded witches. There are instances when women have been paraded naked, forced to eat human excreta and even killed.

According to official data, more than 700 people, majority of them women, were killed after being branded witches. The witch doctors manage to escape as people fear black magic if they are named.

Five women stripped, paraded naked in Jharkhand | Siasat