Gujarat: Tribal widow tied to a pole and branded witch rescued

SURAT: Branding her as a witch, villagers tied a 36-year-old widow to a pole near her residence in a village near Valod of Tapi district till she was rescued by 181 Abhayam Helpline on Friday.
The woman alleged that she had been subjected to torture by her neighbours for quite some time. On Friday, they thrashed her, tied her to a pole with a rope and were planning to call a witch doctor, but an alert resident’s timely call to Abhayam Helpline cut the atrocity short.
Abhayam staff rescued and shifted the semi-conscious woman to a hospital for treatment. “The woman was partially unconscious after being thrashed mercilessly and kept tied to the pole for long. She was admitted in a nearby hospital,” said a helpline official.
The officials informed that the woman who got married around 15 years ago, came to live with her mother after losing her husband six years ago. Since then, the neighbours derided her labelling her as a witch who “killed” her husband.
“They used to harass her, forcing her to leave the village. The hapless woman continued to suffer in silence as she had no place elsewhere to go or seek help. The atrocities peaked on Friday when some alert villager informed 181,” said the official, adding that they have also informed the police.
“We have initiated the process to register an offence. The woman is reluctant to lodge an offence but considering the heinous crime police went to meet the woman and started process to register offence,” said a police officer at Valod police station.
The Abhayam Helpline officials also informed the neighbours on the spot about the crime they have committed in categorizing someone as witch and thrashing her. “We tried to explain to the villagers that witch and other such things are superstitions. They were made to understand that harassing anyone is a crime,” said an official.