CHIEF SECY GAUBA URGES SPEEDY TRIAL FOR MANDAR MURDERS, 27 ARRESTED SO FAR
Artistes of Mukund Nayak troupe perform during the celebrations for International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples at Birsa Munda Football Stadium in Ranchi on Sunday. Picture by Prashant Mitra
A village elder on Sunday shows the spot where the five women were lynched at
Kanjiya-Marai Toli in Mandar, Ranchi, on Saturday. Picture by Vijay Deo Jha
Mandar, Aug. 9: Jasinta Toppo (55), one of the five women lynched by a mob for being witches in Mandar in the wee hours of Saturday, was a progressive matriculate who donated 3 cottahs in 2009 to set up a school in her village.
It is in this school today that 10 armed Ranchi police personnel are camping after the murders of Jasinta and four others, Ratia Oraon (70), Madni Oraon (55), Etwaria Oraon (50) and Tetri Oraon (35).
Forking left from Mandar is Tangar Basli Road from where a 2km journey brings one to Kanjiya village (not Sanjia as reported) and its cluster Marai Toli, where murders took place.
Today, stray dogs licked dried blood at the akhara where a frenzied mob of 250 villagers had branded five tribal women witches, stripped them, lynched them and pelted stones on their bleeding bodies around 1am on Saturday.
Just 30km away in Ranchi, chief secretary Rajiv Gauba today held a high-level meeting with the police and officials of social welfare, health, HRD, labour and employment departments on witch-hunt murders, directing arrests of all the accused and chargesheets filed within a month for speedy trial.
"Special public prosecutors will be appointed and high court requested to constitute fast-track court for speedy disposal of all witchcraft-related cases. Home department will appoint a nodal officer to monitor the cases," he said.
Already, 27 persons have been arrested for the grisly killings, two youths Xavier, 22, and Moses (locally called Mojes), 26, this morning. Neighbours said Xavier had been a college student and was related to Jasinta.
Like yesterday, even today villagers iterated the five women got branded as witches as anojhain (a female ojha or quack) named Aichin in Jhakhra Tola, another cluster in Kanjiya, allegedly blamed them for causing the death of village boy Bipin Khalkho, a Class VI student.
Though Bipin was ill for some time, exhibiting symptoms of jaundice and typhoid, his family did not take him to a hospital till it was too late, relying on ojhas. Taken to missionary-run Holy Family Hospital in Mandar on July 29, Bipin died on August 2 morning, a nurse saying his liver was damaged beyond repair.
If the ojhain's allegation is the only motive behind the murders, it rules out property dispute or revenge.
Matching the motive on the scale of incredulity are the profiles of one of the arrested youths and one of the victims.
Xavier, despite his college education, was among those who believed that women of his village practised black magic to kill a child.
Jasinta, the lone tribal Christian among the victims, was educated and established. Among her children, a son is in the army (Bihar battalion), a daughter a nurse. Besides donating land for the village primary upgraded school, Jasinta led a campaign against alcoholism. With some others, she campaigned for power supply in the village, which it finally got six months ago. Four months ago, Jasinta got a tube well installed.
"I feel sorry for that lady (Jasinta). All were innocent but she (Jasinta) did a lot for everyone. See how we repaid her. But, who will dare speak the truth? If you do, you are finished," said an eyewitness to the lynching.
"They dragged my mother in front of us when we were sleeping," Anu, a Class X student and Jasinta's youngest daughter, recounted the horror. That fateful night, Anu and her elder sister Anima, a nurse, had rushed to Mandar police station for help. ASI S.P. Singh rushed with six policemen but was outnumbered by the swelling mob.
"We killed your mother, a witch, and we will kill you the same way," a shivering Anu quoted the mob. "They are calling us (Anu and her sisters Anima and Jagrani) the daughters of a witch."
Jasinta's husband Matiyash now fears for the life of their family.
On Jasinta, Mahua Maji, chairperson of Jharkhand State Commission for Women, said: "Here was a woman fighting alcoholism, encouraging education. Chances are high that people who did not want social change removed her along with the others."
"Single women with land are often victimised or killed as witches. But this case was different," Maji said. "Murders in Marai Toli are a clear case of superstition. Superstition is strong in villagers' minds due to poor communication on health issues."
"Here's a village in Ranchi district barely 10 minutes from Mandar's main road. Yet, college boys took part in lynching. Health department has not succeeded in changing mindsets," Maji added.
She said villagers told her witches become most active in July-August (monsoon months) and people die. "If you link the time with common ailments, you will notice people fall ill due to weather change, water-borne diseases, even diarrhoea. But, no one has told villagers this," Maji said.
This irony will perhaps be lost on Jharkhand, which today observed International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. Tribal outfits across the state urged indigenous societies to adopt the scientific temperament. But, on the same day in Kanjia, bereaved mother Bero kept insisting black magic killed Bipin.
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