SOCIETY

Bodies exhumed to do black magic

     Bijnore (Uttar Pradesh): Shocked residents of Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh have reacted with horror to news that some people have been exhuming the bodies of their kith and kin to practice black magic. A shocked Iqbal Ahmed was one of the first people to lodge a complaint with the authorities about the body of his two-month- old child missing from its grave. Iqbal says he had buried the baby in the local graveyard, and was startled to find the body missing after a few days. "Around a fortnight ago, my son died and we buried his body after all the rituals in the graveyard. One day a child came running to me and told me that my son's grave had been dug and the body pulled out. I informed the police at once and they reached the graveyard. I think it is the matter of black magic," said Iqbal. Dr N Verma, a police inspector in Chandanpur, said that this was the first time that a case of this nature had come before the police. "I got the information about the matter that in the Ansari graveyard. We reached the spot and started investigating the matter. We found a dug-up grave and the dead body was tied to a tree. The dead body was of a local child who had died fourteen days earlier," said Verma.

     Investigations are on procure the relevant facts and the police are hopeful of nabbing the culprits, Verma added. In the popular imagination, India is the land of mystics - of ropemen, babas and sadhus. And if babas and sadhus are not in ready supply, there are any number of fakes and frauds who are happy to fill in. Every once in a while, one come across bizarre, often horrifying headlines - 'Child sacrificed to help woman conceive'; 'Woman branded as witch'; 'Man sacrificed to find treasure'. Far more frequently, there are reports of gullible people being deceived by men and women claiming to possess magical powers. There has not been a law promulgated specifically to prosecute those making false spiritual claims and duping people of their money. The Maharashtra Government has taken a step in this direction with its Maharashtra Eradication of Black Magic and Evil and Aghori Practices Bill. Introduced in the 2005 winter session of the State Assembly, the Bill is likely to be passed in the 2006 winter session, and has been delayed so far only because of extraneous emergencies in the state. When passed, this law will make it punishable to practice, promote or propagate black magic and other acts of superstition. The Bill seeks to bring under its ambit 'sinister practices' that intend to exploit people or harm them physically, mentally or financially. Needless to say, the Bill and its sweeping implications has found many detractors. None of the political parties - except for the rightwing Shiv Sena have openly opposed the Bill. The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti has emerged as its strongest critic. They claim the lack of specificity in the original Bill could lead to a clamping down on all religious activities. The draft Bill was subsequently watered down and specific instances of the practices criminalized by the law were detailed. "When there is the Indian Penal Code and the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, operational in the country, is another law really required," asks Ramesh Shinde of the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti. The Bill makes the practice of black magic a cognizable, non- bailable offence. A person convicted of an offence under the proposed law can be imprisoned for a period between six months and seven years, and can be fined upwards of Rs 5,000. Further, only a high-level police official - the vigilance officer - will be equipped to handle these cases. Theologian Josantony Joseph agrees that there are instances where people are taken advantage of, but says one needs to be careful about the sweep of the proposed law. The law, if indeed required, should be "minimalistic" and well defined to avoid misuse, he says. Anand Grover with the Lawyers Collective feels that the proposed legislation deals with only a fraction of the quackery that exists. The legislation needs to be holistic in its scope and should be brought at a national level, he says, cautioning that any vagueness will result in it being misused.
-Oct 13, 2006

Previous File