Assam: 107 people killed in witch-hunting incidents since 2011
Guwahati: A total of 107 people have been killed in witch-hunting incidents in Assam in the past eight years, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary informed the state Assembly on Saturday.
Eighty-four people have died due to witch-hunting from 2011 till May 2016 while 23 more lives were lost to it till October this year since the BJP-led government came to power in the state, he said in response to a written question by Congress legislator Nandita Das.
The state government had notified the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act, 2015 in October last year and is carrying out awareness drives against the superstitious belief, Patowary said on behalf of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who holds the Home portfolio.
Patowary told the House that Kokrajhar, Chirang and Udalguri districts under the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) jurisdiction have recorded the highest number of witch-hunting deaths at 22, 19 and 11 respectively.
Nine deaths were reported in Biswanath, seven in Goalpara, six each in Nagaon and Tinsukia and four each in Karbi Anglong and Majuli districts, he said.
Of the 23 persons who died in the state due to witch- hunting since May 2016, 12 were men and 11 women, the minister added.
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Look-out circular issued against Union Minister Bandi Sanjay's son in POCSO case
Hyderabad (PTI): The Cyberabad police have issued a look-out circular against Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar's son Bandi Bageerath, who has been booked under the POCSO Act, to prevent him from fleeing the country.
A police official told PTI on Saturday that searches are being conducted to nab Bageerath.
Meanwhile, Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) president K Kavitha, in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanded the removal of Sanjay Kumar, MoS (Home), from the Union Cabinet "to ensure a free and fair investigation in the POCSO case involving his son".
In a setback to Bageerath, the Telangana High Court on Friday night did not grant him any interim protection from arrest.
Dealing with an interim anticipatory bail petition of Bageerath, the court said it was not inclined to grant any interim order at this stage.
The counsel for Bageerath had requested interim protection from arrest until the orders on the petition were issued.
The case was registered under relevant Sections of the BNS and POCSO Act on May 8 against Bageerath based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl, who alleged that Bageerath was in a relationship with her daughter and sexually harassed her.
After recording the statement of the victim, more stringent sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were invoked in the case.
Bageerath had also lodged a counter-complaint, alleging that the girl, who got acquainted with him, had invited him to family functions and group gatherings. An FIR was registered based on Bageerath’s complaint.
In the complaint, Bageerath stated that, believing the girl’s family to be trustworthy, he accompanied them on visits to certain holy places as part of a group of friends.
He further alleged that the girl and her parents later pressured him to marry her. When he rejected the proposal, the girl's parents allegedly demanded money and threatened to file false complaints against him if he failed to pay.
Bageerath claimed that, out of fear, he paid Rs 50,000 to the girl's father, but the family later demanded Rs 5 crore. He also alleged that they threatened that the girl's mother would commit suicide if he failed to meet their demands.
