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Branded witch, man forced to swallow stool
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Sep 27, 2011, 6:36:16 PM9/27/11
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Branded witch, man forced to swallow stool
By Subhro Maitra, TNN
The Times of India
Sep 28, 2011, 03.01 am IST
A kangaroo court forced a 50-year-old man to swallow his stool,
apparently to cure him of 'witchcraft'. The victim, a resident of
Jatarpur village in Habibpur, now fears for his life as a police
complaint has brought further hostility from the villagers.
Tarini Mandal, a poor labourer, was branded a witch by a local
soothsayer (jaanguru) when the latter was approached by villagers to
find the cause of the mysterious deaths of two youths. One of them
died recently after returning home from where he worked as a
labourer. The other youth died a few months back. Some villagers
thought it "unnatural" and approached the jaanguru who declared that
Tarani and his family were responsible for the deaths.
The villagers arranged a kangaroo court on September 19 to punish the
'witch'. Tarani was roughed up and then forced to swallow his stool
to "purge him of his witchcraft". Tarini had to be hospitalized after
the ordeal. His relatives lodged a complaint at Habibpur police
station, accusing villagers like Bimal Mandal, Nirad Mandal, Madhab
Mandal and two others.
This, however, allegedly resulted in death threats to Tarini from the
villagers. Naturally, Tarini kept away from his village. His family
approached the men in uniform once again who arranged a peace meeting
at the police station on Monday night. Although Tarini could return
to his village with the help of police, he still feels insecure. "We
are really scared as the entire village is against us. They have
threatened to burn down our house. Police did not arrest those
against whom we had complained," alleged Tarini's brother-in-law
Satya Sarkar.
Their fears are not unjustified as the hostility of the villagers was
apparent. Maya Mandal, a villager, found nothing wrong with the
verdict. "If the jaanguru said he is a witch, what's wrong with
treating him in kangaroo court," she demanded.
Inspector in charge of Habibpur police station, Dilip Talukdar,
refused to comment, saying the issue was "too sensitive". SP Jayanta
Pal, however, claimed he had no idea about such a complaint.
Local CPM leader Sunil Burman said such superstition was not common
among the Rajbangshi community. "We have to settle the matter by
talking to the villagers," he said.
More at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Branded-witch-man-forced-to-swallow-stool/articleshow/10148087.cms
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
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understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
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Since newsgroup posts are being removed
by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
this post may be reposted several times.
By Subhro Maitra, TNN
The Times of India
Sep 28, 2011, 03.01 am IST
A kangaroo court forced a 50-year-old man to swallow his stool,
apparently to cure him of 'witchcraft'. The victim, a resident of
Jatarpur village in Habibpur, now fears for his life as a police
complaint has brought further hostility from the villagers.
Tarini Mandal, a poor labourer, was branded a witch by a local
soothsayer (jaanguru) when the latter was approached by villagers to
find the cause of the mysterious deaths of two youths. One of them
died recently after returning home from where he worked as a
labourer. The other youth died a few months back. Some villagers
thought it "unnatural" and approached the jaanguru who declared that
Tarani and his family were responsible for the deaths.
The villagers arranged a kangaroo court on September 19 to punish the
'witch'. Tarani was roughed up and then forced to swallow his stool
to "purge him of his witchcraft". Tarini had to be hospitalized after
the ordeal. His relatives lodged a complaint at Habibpur police
station, accusing villagers like Bimal Mandal, Nirad Mandal, Madhab
Mandal and two others.
This, however, allegedly resulted in death threats to Tarini from the
villagers. Naturally, Tarini kept away from his village. His family
approached the men in uniform once again who arranged a peace meeting
at the police station on Monday night. Although Tarini could return
to his village with the help of police, he still feels insecure. "We
are really scared as the entire village is against us. They have
threatened to burn down our house. Police did not arrest those
against whom we had complained," alleged Tarini's brother-in-law
Satya Sarkar.
Their fears are not unjustified as the hostility of the villagers was
apparent. Maya Mandal, a villager, found nothing wrong with the
verdict. "If the jaanguru said he is a witch, what's wrong with
treating him in kangaroo court," she demanded.
Inspector in charge of Habibpur police station, Dilip Talukdar,
refused to comment, saying the issue was "too sensitive". SP Jayanta
Pal, however, claimed he had no idea about such a complaint.
Local CPM leader Sunil Burman said such superstition was not common
among the Rajbangshi community. "We have to settle the matter by
talking to the villagers," he said.
More at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Branded-witch-man-forced-to-swallow-stool/articleshow/10148087.cms
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
Since newsgroup posts are being removed
by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
this post may be reposted several times.
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