Sunday, July 25, 2010

India: 200 Witches Killed Every Year

From the Hindustan Times:
Nearly 200 to 150 women are killed every year in India after being tagged as 'witches', a Dehra Dun based NGO has said citing National Crime Bureau statistics. Jharkhand tops the list with 50-60 witchcraft-related murders every year followed by Andhra Pradesh where the number is around 30, Haryana
25-30 and Orissa 24-28, Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) Chairman Avdhash Kaushal claimed.

Jharkhand is not the only state where women are facing barbaric attacks in the name of witchcraft, such incidents are common in Orissa, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, Kaushal said.

In past 15 years, more than 2,500 women were killed after being accused of practicing witchcraft, according to a study conducted by RLEK.

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