Woman branded witch, forced to ‘eat excreta’: Gauhati High Court grants bail to accused

A woman was allegedly branded a witch and assaulted by villagers, including the accused, following which her daughter filed a complaint, leading to his arrest.

The Gauhati High Court has granted bail to a man accused of being part of a mob that allegedly assaulted a woman after she was branded a witch, forced her to eat her own excreta, stripped her in public and made her and her husband walk across a river before taking them to a bus stand to drive them out of the village. The specific allegation against the petitioner was that he caught the woman’s daughter by the hand and dragged her across the river.

Justice Sanjeev Kumar Sharma noted in the September 15 order that the investigation had already been completed and the chargesheet filed. It also noted that the man had spent over 72 days in custody and held that his further detention was not necessary for the trial.

“Having regard to the materials available on record and also the period of detention undergone, further detention of the petitioner may not be necessary for the purpose of trial,” the court said.

‘Mob gathered, stripped mother’

The informant, who is the daughter of the woman, lodged a complaint on June 11 alleging that the main accused took her parents away after branding her mother a witch and gathered other villagers, who allegedly assaulted the mother, forced her to eat her own excreta and stripped her in public.

It was also alleged that one of the other accused was earlier married to the informant’s younger sister, but after their divorce, he spread a rumour that her mother was a witch.

Justice Sanjeev Kumar Sharma granted bail to the man on the condition of furnishing a bail bond of Rs 50,000.

As far as the present petitioner is concerned, the allegation against him was that he caught the informant by the hand and dragged her across the river. The same was also stated by the witnesses in their statements.

The man was represented by advocates B P Borah, J B Choudhury and P J Dutta in the matter, while the state was represented by the public prosecutor.

“The investigation of the case is over and the charge-sheet has already been submitted. The petitioner has spent above 72 days in custody,” the court said. It granted bail to the man on the condition of furnishing a bail bond of Rs 50,000 with two sureties of the like amount to the satisfaction of the special judge concerned, with the condition that he shall not approach or try to contact any of the victims or other witnesses acquainted with the facts of the case.