BY OUR STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, March 19: ‘Brothers’, a social organization which fights against social evils like witch hunting and other superstitious belief in the State for long, has accused the government for not taking any initiatives in this regard till date.
Chief Secretary of ‘Brothers’ and social worker, Dibyajyoti Saikia, reminded the government today about lack of initiatives for a Bill against witch hunting and demanded that a Bill be passed in the on going Assembly.
Saikia said: “We are protesting against the witch hunting process in the state and continuing our movement to form a strong act against this social evil from 2011. We also have protested against the government in this regard and staged various activities to fulfil our demand. In the last Assembly session in 2014, we had staged a dhar to ect the act and Chief Minister Gogoi promised to take initiative. But till date, the promise has not fulfilled. Though the Gauhati High Court issued a show cause notice to the State government in November 2014 last but it was not completed.”
Saikia warned the government through the press meet to take steps in this regard as soon as possible.
Saikia also urged the government to keep in mind some points while working on the law against superstition. They said: “If an individual is found practising incantation or Shamanists culture, he or she should be fined an amount of Rs. 5000/- and may be jailed for a period of 1 year if proved. If individual indulges in spreading rumour about any other individual as witch, the one spreading the rumour should be jailed for a period upto six years with a fine of minimum Rs. 15,000/-, if proved and if found guilty of witch hunting, he or she should be punished with life imprisonment with a fine of minimum Rs. 30,000/- to a maximum of Rs. 50,000/-.”
Saikia also said: “Kith and kin of the victim should be rehabilitated by the government apart from paying a compensation amount of minimum Rs 50,000/- or maximum of Rs 10 lakhs and the whistle blowers should be awarded by the government apart from supporting them with fincial aid and security. Awareness programme against witch hunt should be made a compulsory event. If a police officer fails in curbing such crimes in his/her jurisdiction, he/she should be suspended immediately. Home, Social Welfare, Health and Education departments should conduct awareness programmes at regular intervals against superstition and witch hunt in particular. Awareness chapter against superstition should be included in school text at primary level itself.”