Chhattisgarh Case: Woman Blamed as Witch for Family Deaths

In Chhattisgarh's Balod district, a woman has accused her family of subjecting her to prolonged mental and physical harassment by declaring her a witch and holding her responsible for deaths in the household. Following a complaint lodged in court, police have now registered an FIR.

Sarla Patel, a resident of Ganjpara in Ward 12 of Balod town, has named her family members and 15 associated persons in the complaint. She alleges that after the initial abuse at home, tantriks were summoned from different locations to perform jhaad-phoonk, or exorcism, in the name of removing evil spirits. She adds that she was publicly insulted by being called a tonhi in front of relatives and neighbours.

Allegations linked to a wedding

The complainant states that her two daughters were married in November 2020. For the ceremonies, Pandit Umesh Dave, a tantrik from Nagpur, was invited. Patel claims he blamed her for a family death and other troubles, and then led a puja costing roughly Rs 50,000. She says she was unable to take part because of her menstrual cycle, after which she was insulted and labelled a witch.

Further rituals and travel

A few days later, her mother-in-law, Kanta Ben Patel, fell ill. Patel says some relatives reached out to a Dhanbad tantrik through Babubhai Patel, a Jharkhand resident, and again placed the blame on her. She alleges she was then taken to a tantrik in Vadodara, Gujarat, made to sit with a lemon for a full day, and asked to apologise. When she refused, she says the tantrik waved a coconut over her and recited mantras.

The case has drawn attention to the persistence of witch-branding and superstition-based abuse. Police are proceeding with the probe in line with the court's directions.