Sorcery rumours: Odisha villagers afraid to send girls to school

JAGATSINGHPUR: Following rumours of human sacrifice doing rounds since last week, residents of Rout Nuagaon and Samang villages within Raghunathpur police limits are living in a state of panic to the point that they fear sending their children especially girls to school.

Sources said a group of people with the help of a sorcery practitioner, have allegedly been carrying out witchcraft at an isolated place on the banks of Nandabrat river in Samang village. Rumours have it that they are doing so in order to trace the source of a hidden wealth in the locality and the wealth can only be obtained by sacrificing a minor girl in front of the goddess.

So villagers are scared to send their girls to school for the fear that they might be kidnapped for the human sacrifice.  Sharing an instance, Narayan Pani of Rout Nuagaon said since last week some unidentified persons wearing black clothes, had been knocking the door of his house between 7 pm and 10 pm on a regular basis. 

“I live here with my wife, two minor kids and two physically-handicapped sisters. It is scary. We even tried to catch hold of the miscreants but they fled in a bike that did not have a registration number. I now fear sending my daughter to school lest she is abducted,” he said adding that he lodged an FIR with Raghunathpur police in this regard.

Sadeipur sarpanch Pravasini Pradhan said it is just a rumour. “I have requested the locals not to be afraid. There is a rise in theft in our areas but police have failed to nab the culprits as yet. So the villagers are scared for both the issues,” she added.

Raghunathpur IIC Sushant Sethi said police visited the villages and asked the locals not to panic. “A case has been registered and investigation is underway,” he added.