Witch hunt leads to village brawl in Mahottari
- By Rabindra Upreti

Simardahi, Mahottari, Aug 14 - In a high voltage drama early Tuesday in this central Terai hinterland, at least four people were injured seriously while several others sustained minor injuries, when two groups of villagers fought among themselves at a gathering held to identify "village witches".

The fierce fracas started after a Dhami, who identified himself as a "promising shaman" from neighboring India, and his assistants started harassing hundreds of local women as part of their ritual aimed at identifying village witches at the gathering of thousands of people, nearly half of them women.

Those seriously injured in the brawl include, Simardahi Village Development Committee (VDC) Chairman Nawal Kishor Sahani, his brother Shankar Sahani, Marani Devi Shah - who was charged of practising witchcraft, and an unidentified villager.

Thousands of people had gathered at the village early Tuesday to witness a special ritual which was later held by the Dhami, identified as Ram Kripal Pandit from Sarayabasti, Baishali district, Bihar. The Dhami, together with VDC Chairman Sahani, had invited all the villagers mainly women from each household to witness the "witch identifying ritual".

Beating drums and passing through the village alleys, they had also warned villagers on the previous night that the latter would be fined with Rs 50,000 if they did not send their womenfolk to take part at the gathering. The villagers were also told that those practising witchcraft would start dancing soon after having taken the special ritual food prepared by the "shaman".

Eyewitnesses said the crowd was 10,000-strong at the village courtyard, which lies on the backyard of a temple of Hindu God Narayan and the VDC Office. Village women had arrived at the site after covering a distance of one to two kilometers on foot braving the early morning heat.

However, things went wrong after the Bihari "shaman" made an announcement at about 2 p.m. that there were 13 witches in all at the village. Soon after his announcement, VDC Chairman "Sahani stepped onto the scene and told the ‘shaman’ to declare local woman Marani Devi Shah as the sole woman practicing witchcraft in the village," eyewitnesses said.

Thereafter Marani Devi’s near and dear ones started to vent their ire on the VDC Chairman and the ‘shaman’ chased them. Eyewitnesses said the two then escaped from the scene and entered into the VDC Office, which was later vandalized by the infuriated villagers. The two were chased and attacked by the villagers until the police arrived at around 2:35 p.m.

Around the same time, another group of enraged villagers went toward Sahani’s house and vandalized it. Supporters of Sahani started beating Marani Devi up till she became severely injured. Some villagers said neighbours of 16-year-old Sanjay Shah, an epilepsy patient who died in the third week of June, had blamed Marani Devi of spelling a black magic on late Shah.

Chairman of the VDC’s Ward No. 1, Nanda Kishor Mandal, said that the Bihari ‘shaman’ was hired by locals, Binod Mahato, Bindeshwor Mandal, Kesi Sahani, Yogendra Shah (father of Sanjay Shah) with the payment of Rs 20,000.

Injured Marani Shah was taken to the hospital by the police, who are investigating into the entire episode. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Manohar Rimal, who led the police team to the village today, VDC Chairman Sahani told them that the gathering was just an interaction program.