Odisha to tighten decade-old witch-hunting law

AMID a rise in sorcery-related violence and Odisha reporting at least 50 such killings every year, the state government has decided to comprehensively overhaul its decade-old witchhunting law.

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Sources said the Law department has begun the process to amend the Odisha Prevention of Witch-hunting (OPW) Act, 2013, following recommendations of the State Law Commission, which was tasked to review the existing legislation and plug gaps that have allowed perpetrators to evade punishment and victims to suffer without adequate legal support.

According to reports, 606 people killed in sorcery-related incidents in the last 11 years with 12 districts under the grip of the menace. Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Rayagada, Ganjam, Gajapati, Nabarangpur and Kandhamal districts are the worst-hit with as high as 67 per cent of murders triggered by witchcraft suspicion.