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Collision of Witch Hunting and Murder

Blaming women for crimes committed towards them is not a new phenomenon in India. But the state of Assam goes a step further and blames them for everything that goes wrong in the state. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 2,097 people were murdered from 2000 to 2012 in the name of witch-hunting. According to the Assam Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rockybul Hussain, at least 77 persons were killed and 60 others were injured in witch hunting incidents across Assam since 2010, and 35 of them were women. Cases against witch hunters have proven to be futile owing to the lack of witnesses. The stigma that a person dealing with such accusations faces scars them for life and resuming normalcy becomes a distant dream for them.

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